Walz leads Democratic contest in 14th District

Jim Walz is poised to be the Democrat who takes on incumbent Republican Randy Hultgren in November, in one of Illinois' most Republican-leaning districts.

With 76 percent of the precincts reporting early Wednesday, unofficial vote totals show Walz with 43 percent (22,849 votes), John Hosta with 38 percent (20,302 votes) and Jesse Maggitt with 19 percent (10,255 votes).

While Walz was not yet ready to claim victory Tuesday night, he spoke optimistically about a Democrat's chances against Hultgren.

"All bets are off in this particular election cycle. Anything can happen," he said.

Walz positioned himself as the most progressive of the Democratic candidates, and was the only one of the three to advocate for a transition to single-payer universal health care.

The winner of Tuesday's Democratic primary will face Hultgren, who was first elected to the district in 2010, reclaiming a seat for Republicans that was once held by former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert. Hultgren is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.