Underwood widens lead over Oberweis as Lake, Kane counties post new results

With new ballot counts coming from Kane and Lake counties, U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood's lead has widened in her hard-fought race for reelection against Republican challenger Jim Oberweis.

The new unofficial results, posted just after 10 p.m. Sunday in Lake and 11 a.m. Monday in Kane, now give the Naperville Democrat a total of 192,601 votes to 191,454 for Oberweis, a 1,147-vote advantage.

The update came less than 24 hours after a late Saturday night posting by the Lake County clerk's office flipped the race in Underwood's favor, turning the count from a 558-vote disadvantage to a 584-vote edge.

However, the counting in the 14th District is not over, and additional updates are expected over the next nine or 10 days. Mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Election Day that arrive at county clerks' offices by Nov. 17 will be counted, as will provisional ballots.

The Lake County clerk's office has said it plans updates on Tuesday and Nov. 17, and the McHenry County clerk is expected to post an update Wednesday and final totals Nov. 18. Kendall and Will counties are waiting until Nov. 17. DeKalb is waiting until Nov. 18.

Oberweis, a state senator from Sugar Grove, declared victory in a video posted Wednesday, when he led by 895 votes. The Underwood campaign called the proclamation premature.

The sprawling 14th District includes parts of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, DeKalb and Kendall counties.