The Winner
If you live in Illinois’ 11th Congressional District, Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL)) will represent you for an eighth straight term. The Associated Press projected Foster the winner over Republican Jeff Walter on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 3, WTVO reported.
Foster had 64.2% of the vote to Walter’s 35.8%, with about 94% of the expected vote counted, according to NBC News’ results. That’s a lead of about 28 points, and it keeps the seat in Democratic hands.
The Race
Walter, the village president of Elburn and a retired IT consultant, won a four-way Republican primary on March 17 with 42.6% of the vote, edging Michael Pierce by 1,224 votes, according to official results reported by Shaw Local. Foster ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Cook Political Report and Inside Elections rated the race Solid Democratic, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Democratic, according to Ballotpedia’s race page.
Foster’s lead is wider than in 2024, when NBC News’ results showed him beating Republican Jerry Evans 55.6% to 44.4%. The district includes all or parts of Naperville, Aurora, Joliet, Bolingbrook, Downers Grove, St. Charles and other suburbs, Patch reported. About 755,000 people live there, and the typical household earns about $109,000 a year.
About 46% of adults hold at least a bachelor’s degree. About 65% of residents are white, about 19% are Hispanic, about 9% are Asian and about 6% are Black. The unemployment rate is about 5%, and about 7% of residents live below the poverty line.
What’s Next
Foster’s new term begins Jan. 3, 2027, and Illinois’ results stay unofficial until the state certifies them. In May, he asked the House Appropriations Committee for about $70 million for 20 projects in the district in the 2027 budget year, including a Fox River Trail extension in Batavia and energy-efficient starter homes in Aurora, according to a press release from his office.
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