Matt O'Shea Projected Winner In 19th Ward Chicago Election

CHICAGO — Incumbent 19th Ward Ald. Matt O'Shea is the projected winner of the 19th Ward Chicago aldermanic election. With 56 of 57 precincts reporting in the ward as of late Tuesday night, O'Shea had 17,047 votes opposed to challenger David Dewar's 2,965. That's roughly an 85 percent to 15 percent margin.

"I'm just excited that we were so successful today," O'Shea said after he was declared the projected winner around 8 p.m.

"A lot of credit goes to the community, the staff I worked with and the civic partners that work to make this a wonderful place to raise a family."

O'Shea, the incumbent, has been the 19th Ward representative on the Chicago City Council since 2011. This is the third time he's been elected to the City Council. All three times he had at least one opponent.

"I look forward to 4 more years serving this great community," O'Shea said. "I'm honored that the voters had enough confidence in me to give me another opportunity."

Dewar is a political newcomer who sought office for the first time in 2019. Running as an independent, he said the race was a "David vs. Goliath" match-up in an interview with the Chicago Tribune's Daily Southtown publication.

"David Dewar had the courage to put himself out there," O'Shea said after his projected win. "It's democracy in action. A lot of people can stand on the sidelines and complain, but he was willing to put himself out there and open himself up to criticism. You have to respect that, whether you agree with him or not."

Dewar said his numbers were likely affected when he "upset teachers" with his views on pensions, a major part of his campaign.

"At least I got a chance to say my peace," he said. "I think the state of Illinois and city of Chicago are in dire straights financially, and we will see a mass migration in Illinois with these new taxes."

While Dewar said he was hoping to win, the outcome wasn't far from what he expected.

"I thought we'd see an 80-20 race, but we got 85-15," he said.

FOLLOW VOTE TOTALS HERE: via City of Chicago elections

• Matt O'Shea (Democrat): 17,047, 85.18%
• David Dewar (Independent): 2,965, 14.82%

***** 56 out of 57 precincts reporting (98.25%)