Cullerton narrowly retains seat in 23rd Senate District

Incumbent Democrat Tom Cullerton of Villa Park appears to have narrowly defeated Republican challenger Seth Lewis to retain his 23rd District state Senate seat.

With only one Cook County precinct remaining to be counted, Cullerton's 43,195 votes leads Lewis by 809 votes in one of the year's most expensive legislative races. Combined, the candidates are reported to have raised more than $3.8 million.

Cullerton campaigned on a socially liberal but fiscally conservative platform.

During the campaign, Cullerton promised to vote for no new taxes and to continue to push for fiscal reforms.

The former Villa Park mayor also pledged to support term limits for legislative leaders.

"Allowing for power to be held in the hands of one or two people for an unlimited period of time is not in the best interest of Illinois residents," Cullerton said, "This leads to partisanship and gridlock at every step of the way."

Lewis pledged, if elected, to "propose the term-limit initiative be on the ballot as a constitutional amendment for the next election."

The district includes parts of Bartlett, Bloomingdale, Glendale Heights, Roselle, Wood Dale and Villa Park.