Helene Miller Walsh (right) and democratic challenger Mary Edly-Allen (left)
Helene Miller Walsh (right) and democratic challenger Mary Edly-Allen (left)
The final results of the extremely close election for the 51st House District of Illinois have been tallied, and Mary Edly-Allen, a Democrat, has bested incumbent state Rep. Helene Miller Walsh (R-Mundelein) by 373 votes.
Walsh trailed by one vote on election night 25,106 to 25,105 but once provisional and late-arriving Lake County ballots were added to the count, Edly-Allen jumped ahead with a 373 lead, despite a Republican stronghold on the Destrict 51 seat in Lake County in previous years.
"We came up short," Miller Walsh said to the Daily Herald. "I want to thank the hundreds of volunteers who worked tirelessly for what was a wild two-month campaign. I'm proud that we spent those two months talking about the only issue that matters in Illinois: the bankrupting of this state. Congratulations to Mary Edly-Allen."
Edly-Allen responded to the election results with gratitude, saying, "From the bottom of my heart, I want to extend a sincere thank you to the thousands of voters who have chosen to place their trust in me."
District 51 covers all or portions of the Barrington area, Lake Zurich, Long Grove, Libertyville and Mundelein.
Alerts Sign-up