Two years after narrow defeat, Peterson wins 52nd House seat

Two years after losing her bid for the Illinois House District 52 seat by only 47 votes, Democrat Maria Peterson flipped the script on incumbent Rep. Martin McLaughlin in Tuesday's election.

With 96% of the estimated vote counted Wednesday, Peterson led the Barrington Hills Republican by more than 5,000 votes, capturing 56.1% of the total, according to unofficial results. The Associated Press projected her as the winner late Tuesday night.

“Two years ago, we came up just 47 votes short. Tonight, the voters of the 52nd District made sure we finished the job,” Peterson said Tuesday.

Peterson credited her success on her knocking on thousands of doors, as well as her appearances at community events.

McLaughlin said Wednesday one of the factors in his defeat was a lower turnout than in 2024. He said there were about 60,000 ballots cast two years ago and only about 44,000 cast this year.

“I think it says that people just were not motivated in general to go to the polls in the ways that they had,” he said. Especially conspicuous by their absence, he said, were independents.

“Somebody said, ‘Well, you did much less worse than everyone else.’ I said, ‘Well, that’s a bit like being a 5’7” center on the basketball team,” he said.

He also acknowledged electoral anger and frustration around issues such as gasoline prices, and noted campaign ads targeting him focused on those issues.

“The national problem really stood out there. People were really upset at the federal level, and I think they took it out on state races all across the state,” he said.

Peterson said area Democrats did a good job organizing around a quartet of strong women leaders, including 26th Senate District winner Nabeela Syed, 51st House District winner Jenny Levin and Mary Mesa, who won in Lake County Board District 17.

Peterson said her priorities in Springfield will include property tax and income tax reform.

Protecting the environment is also paramount, she said, including data center reforms such as ensuring they don't increase utility costs for residents or infringe on wetlands and aquifers, especially in the southwest corner of Lake County.

The 52nd District encompasses parts of Cook, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties, including the Barrington area, Algonquin, Mundelein and Wauconda.

szalusky@dailyherald.com