Villa concedes Democratic comptroller race to Croke

Margaret Croke is the Democratic nominee for comptroller after state Sen. Karina Villa, her closest competitor in the four-way race, conceded late Thursday.

Nearly 10% of the state’s precincts have yet to release results from Tuesday’s primary, but Villa said in a statement on social media saying the “most updated vote-by-mail counts” indicated there was no path to victory.

Croke leads Villa by 2.3 percentage points and by more than 26,000 votes, according to unofficial results.

Croke, a state representative from Chicago, was backed by Gov. JB Pritzker after having served in his administration previously as deputy chief of staff of at the Department of Commerce and Economic Development.

Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim, who was endorsed by outgoing Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, finished third and state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit was fourth.

Croke issued a victory statement via social media as well.

“Thank you to the voters across Illinois for putting their trust in me to serve as the Democratic nominee for state comptroller,” she wrote to her followers. “I am running for this office to be a fiscal watchdog who will protect taxpayer dollars, ensure transparency in how our state spends money and pay bills on time.”

The state comptroller acts as the state’s chief fiscal officer, handling payroll, paying bills and managing the state’s many accounts.

Mendoza opted not to run again after serving a decade in the role, and is contemplating a run for Chicago mayor.

Croke will face Republican Bryan Drew, a downstate attorney, in the November election.