Democrat Mason holds narrow lead over Republican Yost

First-term state Rep. Joyce Mason is holding a narrow lead over her Republican challenger in her bid for a second term in the 61st District.

According to the unofficial returns, the Gurnee Democrat had 21,504 votes to 19,606 for Antioch village Trustee Dan Yost.

But some Lake County mail-in votes are still to be counted, while other mail-in ballots have not yet arrived. Ballots postmarked by Tuesday will be counted if they arrive by Nov. 17.

Mason is well aware of the potential impact of early and mail-in ballots. Two years ago, she upended Republican incumbent Sheri Jesiel by 1,226 votes on the strength of those ballots, which were added to the totals after the in-person votes were counted on Election Day.

The district includes Antioch, Gurnee, Winthrop Harbor, Beach Park, Zion and other parts of northeast Lake County.