McAuliffe wins country's most expensive legislative race

A 20-year Chicago Republican incumbent lawmaker retained his seat Tuesday despite his toughest election challenge in years, in what became one of the most closely-watched state legislative races in the country.

Republican Michael McAuliffe tallied 25,387 votes to Democrat Merry Marwig's 19,724 votes in a race for the 20th House District, according to unofficial results.

"My priority has always been, and will continue to be, reflecting the values of the people I represent," said McAuliffe, the lone GOP public office holder in Chicago, in a statement. "While the state of Illinois has great challenges ahead, I am confident that if we remember that people always come before politics, we will continue to move our state forward toward a better future."

Marwig was making her first run for public office after she moved to Chicago in 2013 and got involved with the Fair Allocation in Runways Coalition, an anti-O'Hare Airport noise group.

The race was considered to be the most expensive state legislative race in the nation, according to the Center for Public Integrity, with more than $4.1 million spent between the two sides. It also represented a proxy war between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, who was trying to maintain his Democratic supermajority of 71 of 118 seats.

The district includes portions of Des Plaines, Rosemont, Park Ridge, Niles, Schiller Park and Chicago's Northwest Side, where both McAuliffe and Marwig live.