The Winner

Former Rep. Melissa Bean (D) is going back to Congress. She’ll represent Illinois’ 8th Congressional District after defeating Republican Jennifer Davis) for the open seat. The Associated Press called the race at 8:31 p.m. Central time on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the Daily Herald reported. ​

In unofficial results, Bean has 133,230 votes (63.8%) to Davis’ 75,617 (36.2%), a margin of about 28 points, according to NBC Chicago. The seat opened when Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) ran for the U.S. Senate instead of seeking reelection, and he lost that primary.

The Race

Bean, a Barrington Democrat, held the 8th District seat from 2005 to 2011. She lost it in 2010 to Republican Joe Walsh by 291 votes. The district has been redrawn since then, and it now takes in parts of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties, including Des Plaines, Carol Stream, South Elgin and West Dundee.

Both nominees won crowded March 17 primaries. Bean beat seven other Democrats with 31.6% of the vote. Davis, a Huntley software entrepreneur and mother of 10 running for office for the first time, won the Republican primary with 51.4%. 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.

About 746,800 people live in the district, the median age is about 40 and the typical household earns about $99,600 a year. About 40% of adults hold at least a bachelor’s degree. Residents are about 56% white, 25% Hispanic, 14% Asian and 5% Black. Unemployment is about 4.5%, and about 7% of residents live below the poverty line.

What’s Next

Bean will be sworn in Sunday, Jan. 3, 2027, and the results stay unofficial until Illinois certifies them. During the campaign, she said she would work with colleagues to find ways to raise revenue for Social Security and cut waste to keep the program solvent, the Daily Herald reported.

On her campaign website, Bean also lists strengthening the Affordable Care Act among her health care priorities. That includes extending the law’s premium tax credits and protecting coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.

---

AllCiv makes it easy to stay politically informed and involved.

---

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article