Duckworth wins re-election in 8th Congressional District

Republican Larry Kaifesh called to concede the 8th Congressional District race to Democratic incumbent Tammy Duckworth at about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, Duckworth's campaign reported.

At that moment, Duckworth had a decisive lead over her challenger with 55.7 percent of the vote and 400 of 431 precincts reporting.

According to unofficial results, Duckworth had 73,771 votes to Kaifesh's 58,728 in the 8th Congressional District at that time.

Neither Duckworth herself nor Kaifesh could be immediately reached for comment by press time.

Having unseated a staunch, nationally renowned Tea Party advocate in Joe Walsh, Duckworth found herself challenged in her re-election bid by a Republican whose service and leadership in overseas combat zones was seen by his supporters as rivaling the incumbent's military credentials.

But Duckworth was quite well established as a political figure by 2014, her campaign coffers holding nearly 10 times as much money as Kaifesh was able to raise in the year since he announced his candidacy.

While Kaifesh acknowledged this disparity as a challenge, he said he strongly believed that his message of change in Washington and for needed repair of the economy and business environment would resonate with voters.

Kaifesh also criticized the Affordable Care Act, saying it was still not too late to repeal and replace it, but Duckworth defended its basic tenets.