McLaughlin breaks out to early lead in 52nd District

With early vote totals in the 52nd District, Republican Martin McLaughlin, the Barrington Hills village president, holds a lead over Democrat Marci Suelzer of Island Lake.

With 85% of precincts reporting, McLaughlin received 26,083 votes (55%) to Suelzer's 20,212 (43%) in the race to replace Republican Rep. David McSweeney, who didn't seek reelection.

Green Party candidate Alia Sarfraz received 1,240 votes.

Those unofficial tallies include early votes and many mail-in ballots, but more votes still need to be counted, and mail-in ballots will be counted if they arrive by Nov. 17.

McLaughlin said the state must get a handle on spending, and was critical of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's aggressive sanctions to curb the coronavirus.

Suelzer supported the governor, and suggested suspended tax breaks for larger corporations as a way to fund social services during the pandemic.

The 52nd District includes Island Lake, Crystal Lake, Cary, Lake in the Hills, Algonquin, Carpentersville, Barrington Hills, South Barrington and Hoffman Estates.