It was a big win for Illinois Real Estate on November 8th! The amount of victorious REALTOR®-backed candidates this election numbered over 80 percent.
Of the candidates running for the Illinois House of Representatives and the State Senate, thirteen of sixteen Opportunity Race candidates won and nine of twelve Independent Expenditure candidates won.
For those unfamiliar with these terms, Opportunity Race candidates are in hotly contested races and capable of receiving direction contributions. They were identified by local associations as REALTOR® Champions.
Meanwhile, supporters of Independent Expenditure candidates are allowed to mail postcards encouraging voters to support REALTOR®-friendly candidates in the program.
A list of elected officials can be found below:
Senate
The following five State Senate candidates who received Opportunity Race support won:- State Sen. Tom Cullerton (23rd)
- State Sen. Melinda Bush (31st)**
- State Sen. Sue Rezin (38th)**
- State Sen. Jennifer Bertino Tarrant (49th)
- Challenger Paul Schimpf (58th)**
Federal
Of the five candidates supported by NAR RPAC Trustees within Opportunity Races, three were winners:- U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (111th)
- U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos (117th)
- Raja Krishnamorrthi (open seat, 8th)
- U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk
- U.S. Rep. Robert Dold
Local races
The RPAC Trustees also approved Opportunity Race funding at the request of local associations in six races for county positions:- Jack Franks, McHenry County Board Chairman
- REALTOR® John Reinert, McHenry County Board
- Frank Haney, Winnebago County Board Chairman
- Tom Weigel, Will County Board
- Ray Tuminello, Will County Board
- REALTOR® Dan Patlak, Cook County Board of Review
- Aaron Lawlor, Lake County Board Chairman
- Don Moran, Will County Board
- Franks
- Reinert
- Haney