PEORIA, Ill. — In the most expensive State Senate race of 2020 in all of Illinois, 46th District Senate incumbent Democrat Dave Koehler fended off Republican challenger and Tazewell County Treasurer Mary Burress to win his fifth term in the office.
“I’m always humbled by the voter who elect me into office, I take it very seriously, and I’m appreciative,” he said.
Burress and Republicans raised over $1.4 million to combat Koehler.
“I was, for some reason, declared the number one target of the Senate GOP, and we had to answer back,” he said.
“We had to change how we did things because of the pandemic, but we made those adjustments and got the message out.”
Koehler and state Democrats ended up shelling out a little over $2.4 million.
A somber Burress expressed humility and satisfaction over the way her campaign was run.
“I feel really good. It was a good, positive race, and we did our best,” she said Tuesday night around 10:30, just after conceding the race to Koehler.
“There was a lot of support out there, and I appreciate each and every [voter].”
Koehler beat Burress by over 6,400 votes, marking the closest any challenger has come to defeating Koehler since his first run at the seat in 2006.
