Stella concedes to Khouri in 11th Congressional District race

In the end, it was just 370 votes out of nearly 62,000 cast that separated the top two vote-getters in the three-way race for the Republican nomination in the U.S. 11th Congressional District.

And late this week, when the vote totals were made official, DuPage County Board member Tonia Khouri knew for sure she had edged out cardiologist Nick Stella for their party's nod - with the third candidate, Herman White, finishing far back.

Khouri now will advance to the November general election against Democratic incumbent Bill Foster of Naperville.

Khouri and Stella each received about 37 percent of the vote with White accounting for the remaining 26 percent. The initial unofficial count on the day after the March 15 primary had shown Khouri with a 417 vote lead over Stella.

At the time, Stella's campaign said the race was "too close to call."

On Thursday, however, Stella, of Darien, conceded defeat in a Facebook post. Final vote counts tabulated this week showed Khouri with 22,859 votes and Stella with 22,489.

"I want to congratulate Tonia Khouri, who has won the primary to be the next Republican nominee for the Illinois 11th Congressional District," Stella posted on Facebook. "As Tonia and I agreed to do earlier in this race - that regardless of the outcome, we would support one another, and I plan to keep my word."

Stella thanked his supporters and asked them to "look toward the future to replace (incumbent) Bill Foster by supporting Tonia Khouri."

Stella could not immediately be reached for comment.

Khouri, of Aurora, said she is grateful to the voters in the 11th District for putting their faith in her. She also expressed her appreciation to Stella and White for running "cordial campaigns."

"It was close," she said. "We are happy with the win. We worked very hard."

Khouri said she is hopeful about getting to Washington, D.C., and is ready to bring "fresh energy, new ideas and independent solutions" to problems the country faces.

Final vote counts show Khouri took the top spot in Aurora and DuPage, Kendall and Kane counties. Stella held the lead in Cook and Will counties.

The 11th District covers parts of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties, including Aurora, Naperville, Bolingbrook, Burr Ridge and Joliet.