Holmes retains seat in 42nd Senate race

It was déjà vu in the 42nd Senate District on Tuesday as Democrat Linda Holmes defeated Republican Terri Ann Wintermute.

Holmes of Aurora managed to keep her seat in a rematch of the 2006 race.

With all 200 precincts reporting, unofficial results show Holmes received 54.56 percent of the vote. Wintermute, a former Will County Board member from Bolingbrook, received 45.44 percent.

Holmes, 49, will serve a four-year term in a district that includes portions of Aurora, Naperville, Plainfield, Bolingbrook, Joliet, Montgomery, North Aurora, Oswego, Romeoville and Shorewood. Republicans held the seat for years until Holmes' victory in 2006.

The rematch was a tense battle in which voters were inundated with ads from both sides. Holmes said she felt she ran on her record.

"I think what we let the public know is when we campaign on issues, that's what's important," she said.

She said her top priority when she returns to Springfield for a second term will be to push for legislation to fund capital projects.

"We need road construction, school construction and, obviously, we need to bring jobs to the district so, obviously, that's my top priority," she said.

Holmes also has said she plans to promote green energy initiatives and opposes raising income and sales taxes.

She previously has served on the Kane County Board, Aurora Council of Neighbors, Aurora Primary Care Consortium and Chicagoland Association of the Remodeling Industry.