Underwood Pulls Ahead Of Oberweis As More Mail-In Votes Counted

NAPERVILLE, IL — Rep. Lauren Underwood (D, IL-14) has pulled ahead of entrepreneur and Republican politician Jim Oberweis in the close race for the seat in Illinois's 14th Congressional District.

According to Chicago Tribune's unofficial election results, Underwood had 191,359 votes to Oberweis's 190,775 votes as of 10 p.m. Sunday. Underwood's lead comes after the Associated Press showed Oberweis ahead by 628 votes Friday morning.

Daily Herald reports that Underwood took the lead after she picked up additional votes in Lake County. The race, which has been neck-and-neck since Election Night, may not be decided until mid-November, after Will, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and DeKalb counties finalize their vote totals.

Oberweis declared victory on Nov. 4, saying, "Today, after contacting every County Clerk across the 14th District, I am pleased to say that, with only a handful of outstanding ballots, it appears that I have won a tough fought campaign against Lauren Underwood."

Underwood's campaign countered, saying in a statement, "Jim Oberweis doesn't get to call this election: the voters do. There are thousands of votes that have yet to be counted. We appreciate every voter who made their voice heard, and our county clerks and election officials must count every ballot in as expeditious and transparent a manner as is possible. Based on publicly available data, we remain confident that once ballots are counted, this race will reflect that the voters have reelected Congresswoman Lauren Underwood."