Democrats across Will County appear to be holding on to state Senate seats

Here is a roundup of the unofficial winners in the state Senate races across Will County in the Nov. 5 general election.

Illinois Senate District 19

Democrat Mike Hastings of Frankfort holds the lead in his race against Republican Samantha Jean Gasca of New Lenox. With 82% of precincts reporting, Hastings has 59% of the vote, versus Gasca’s 40%, garnering 53,571 votes to Gasca’s 36,952.

The 19th District includes all or parts of the communities of Arbury Hills, Country Club Hills, Frankfort, Frankfort Square, Hazel Crest, Homer Glen, Homewood, Joliet, Lockport, Matteson, Mokena, New Lenox, Oak Forest, Olympia Fields, Orland Hills, Orland Park, Richton Park, Tinley Park and University Park.

Illinois Senate District 40

Patrick Joyce, a Democrat from Essex in Kankakee County, has 58% of the vote, compared with 41% for his challenger, Republican Philip Nagel from Bourbonnais, also in Kankakee County, with 88% of the precincts counted.

The 40th District contains portions of the southland as well as a majority of Kankakee County, an eastern portion of Will County and southeastern Grundy County.

Illinois Senate District 43

State Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, had about 60% of the vote with most precincts counted in the 43rd District.

Ventura was seeking reelection to a second term in the district that includes much of Joliet, as it runs from Bolingbrook to the Wilmington area.

She was opposed by Jennifer Monson, an elected school board member in Minooka School District 201.

With 96% of precincts counted, Ventura had 39,839 votes to Monson’s 26,682.

The 43rd District is located mostly within Will County. Major population centers include Bonnie Brae, Braidwood, Channahon, Coal City, Crest Hill, Diamond, Elwood, Fairmont, Ingalls Park, Joliet, Lemont, Lockport, Lockport Heights, Lorenzo, Manhattan, Minooka, Naperville, Preston Heights, Ridgewood, Rockdale, Romeoville, Shorewood, Wilmington and Woodridge.

Illinois Senate District 49

Unofficial vote totals show state Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood, has a substantial lead over Republican Will County Board member Katie Deane-Schlottman of Joliet for the state Senate District 49 race.

With 88% of the votes counted, Cappel has 48,873 votes and Deane-Schlottman has 36,890 votes.

Cappel is seeking to increase financial support for educators, push for a fiscally responsible state government and protect a “woman’s right to privacy in making her own health care decisions no matter what happens at the national level,” according to her campaign’s website.

Deane-Schlottman was first elected to the Will County Board in 2021. She wants to “overturn the tax-and-spend policies” in state government and put an end to Gov. JB Pritzker’s “invited migrant crisis and rising crime,” according to her campaign’s website.