Underwood leads Gryder in 14th Congressional race
Democratic U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville was holding on to her lead over Republican challenger Scott Gryder late Tuesday.
With about half the ballots in the race for Illinois' 14th District seat counted, unofficial results showed Underwood ahead of Oswego's Gryder 63,420 votes to 61,114. That gave her nearly 51% of the total.
Underwood and Gryder were on opposite sides of virtually all key issues.
Gun control was a particular dividing line. While Underwood supported enacting some new restrictions, Gryder - chair of the Kendall County Board - said existing laws need to be enforced better rather than creating new ones.
On abortion, Underwood called the recent Supreme Court decision striking down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision and its abortion-rights protections "a tragedy." Gryder, on the other hand, called Underwood's stance "extreme" and said he would support a federal abortion ban.
Underwood was a much more successful fundraiser than Gryder. Through mid-October, Team Underwood had raked in about $6.5 million for TV ads and other campaign expenses. Gryder's total was well shy of $1 million.
The new 14th District encompasses parts of Kane, Will, DeKalb, Kendall, LaSalle, Bureau and Putnam counties.