12-vote margin in favor of Connelly over Ellman in state's 21st Senate District

Republican incumbent Michael Connelly held a razor-thin lead over Democratic challenger Laura Ellman in a 21st Illinois Senate District race that was too close to call late Tuesday.

A 12-vote margin separated Connelly from Ellman with all 222 precincts reporting unofficial results. Connelly, a Lisle attorney who was first elected to the seat in 2012, received 47,476 votes, while Ellman, an assessor at Argonne National Laboratory, had 47,464.

Ellman joined a wave of first-time women candidates seeking state office buoyed by endorsements from high-profile DuPage Democrats, including Bill Foster, the incumbent in the 11th Congressional District.