It’s official: Briel bests Bishop in state rep race for Yednock’s seat

Barring an appeal of the results, Amy “Murri” Briel will succeed state Rep. Lance Yednock as the 76th District state representative.

Following Election Night on Nov. 5, Briel, an Ottawa Democrat, held a 505 vote lead against Liz Bishop, a La Salle Republican, with more than 1,600 mail-in ballots uncounted in La Salle, DeKalb and Bureau counties. The results were too close and Bishop said she wanted to wait until the final result before conceding.

Election results were certified and made official Tuesday, resulting in updates from county clerks in La Salle and DeKalb counties. Briel’s lead grew by 88 votes. Briel gained 407 votes in La Salle County and 31 in DeKalb County to Bishop’s 334 in La Salle County and 16 in DeKalb County. The Bureau County Clerk’s Office did not post an update Tuesday to its election results, but County Clerk Matthew Eggers said there were 200 to 300 votes left uncounted from Election Night, meaning Briel’s 593-vote lead would be insurmountable.

With La Salle and DeKalb counties official results, Briel has 23,897 votes to Bishop’s 23,304. Election Night results are unofficial until Nov. 19.

Yednock, D-Ottawa, opting not to run for reelection opened the door for a new face to represent the 76th District in Springfield. Briel and Bishop emerged as political opponents after the March primary. The 76th District was the only Illinois House district to have a contested primary for both parties.

The recently redrawn district comprises La Salle, DeKalb and Bureau counties. Yednock has served as the state representative in the district since 2019.