Senger Concedes to Foster in the 11th

Bill Foster will maintain his seat in the 11th Congressional District. 

Foster, a Democrat, won the ballot battle Tuesday over GOP nominee Darlene Senger’s with about 54 percent of the vote, according to unofficial numbers. 
 
“I am honored and humbled to receive the support of 11th District voters tonight," he said in a statement. “This is a victory for everyone who believes in strengthening the middle class, who believes that America succeeds when the middle class succeeds, and who believes in raising the minimum wage so that full time workers aren’t living in poverty.
 
Foster took over the 11th district seat after Illinois GOP Congressman Adam Kinzinger switched to serve the 16th congressional district amid a statewide redistricting.
 
The race was financially lopsided, with Foster’s campaign raising at least $1.9 million to Senger’s $498,729.
 
Relatively new to the Illinois political stage, Foster—a rank-and-file Democrat with populist-liberal leanings—previously represented the 14th district for one term before losing re-election in 2010. Two years later, he campaigned in the 11th—where redrawn boundaries reeled in extra Democratic supporters—and scored 58.6 percent of the vote against GOP incumbent Judy Biggert. Prior to getting into his politics, the wealthy Harvard grad and Naperville resident worked as a physicist at Fermilab and started a successful lighting business at age 19. He supports higher taxes on the rich and opposes school vouchers.
 
Another Napervillian, Senger has been a member of the state's House of Representatives since 2008 and previously worked in the private sector as a financial advisor and served on the Naperville City Council for six years.
 
Vastly outspent by Foster, the pro-business, anti-tax candidate hasn't received enough financial support from the national GOP to counter his cash advantage. Her campaign has gone super-negative on Foster, recently accusing the congressman of refusing to pay his taxes and ignoring a debate with her at the League of Women Voters Forum.
 
"We didn't quite make," Senger said during her concession speech."We are not anywhere near where we need to be with jobs right now, with our economy and with opportunities and I'm hoping that that message resonated for everyone here in office because that's the direction we have to continue to move in."
 
This district encompasses portions of counties including Cook, DuPage and Kane, and includes the cities Naperville, Aurora and Joliet on the western and southwestern outskirts of Chicago.
 
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