Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has won his bid for re-election by less than 20,000 votes, the Associated Press reported Thursday night.
With 100 percent of Illinois precincts reporting election results, the Democratic governor’s 19,400-vote lead is too great for his Republican opponent Bill Brady to overcome, according to the AP. Tuesday’s election was the closest governor’s race in Illinois since 1982, when Republican James Thompson beat Democrat Adlai Stevenson by only 5,074 votes.
Brady has not yet conceded the election. A Nov. 3 statement on his website said he was waiting for official results from the Illinois State Board of Elections and expected to win. But Quinn has declared victory.
“I think the people of Illinois know I won the election,” Quinn said at a Chicago deli, according to the AP.
State officials will finish certifying the results by Dec. 3, according to the AP.
Quinn, the former lieutenant governor, rose to his current seat after former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest on federal corruption charges. This will be his first full term.
