Connelly still leads in 48th House race

With all the votes now tallied, Michael Connelly of Lisle still comes out ahead of Doug Krause of Naperville in the 48th House District Republican primary.

But Krause will not say if he will concede or ask for a recount until this morning.

Connelly received 49 more votes than Krause, according to the latest count that includes all absentee, provisional and grace period votes.

After the initial Feb. 5 tally, Connelly was up by 51 votes.

Connelly, a DuPage County board member, Krause, a Naperville city councilman, and Dave Carlin, a College of DuPage trustee, ran in the GOP primary in the district that includes portions of Naperville, Lisle, Wheaton, Woodridge and Bolingbrook.

Current state Rep. Jim Meyer is retiring in the fall.

Although all of the votes are now in, the totals won't become official until they are canvassed Feb. 26.

Candidates then have five days to ask for a recount of up to 25 percent of the precincts in each jurisdiction -- in this case the Will and DuPage county election authorities.

Krause would not comment on his plans Wednesday except to say he is holding a press conference at 10 a.m. today at the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St.

Connelly could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

If the latest results stand, Connelly will move on to the general election in November. No Democrat filed to run in the primary but one still could appear on the November ballot.