(The Center Square) – The Democrat primary for Illinois Comptroller remained too close to call Wednesday morning.
State Rep. Margaret Croke, D-Chicago, held a 25,529 vote lead over Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, with 99.2% of the vote reported early Wednesday morning.
Croke raised $1.8 million for her campaign, according to filings, with strong individual backing from Michael Sacks, a billionaire business executive and notable Democrat donor. She was endorsed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state House Speaker Chris Welch, among others.
Speaking at a campaign event Tuesday for Croke, Pritzker spoke highly of the
Croke.
“She’s been my state representative now for what, 5 years? And she’s going to be the best comptroller we’ve ever had,” Pritzker said.
Fellow candidate Holly Kim, Lake County Treasurer, was endorsed by current Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, has 270,608 votes.
Villa, a progressive, received endorsements from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Chuy García. Her current term as a state senator ends in 2029.
The winner faces Republican candidate Bryan Drew, an attorney from Southern Illinois, in November.
In remarks given Tuesday, Drew said Croke would be likely to serve in Pritzker’s interests, rather than for Illinoisans.
“She’s just going to be a rubber stamp for his spending and what the tax taxpayers need is somebody at the table representing their interest because that’s really what the comptroller is supposed to be,” Drew said. “Do [voters] think that their money’s being spent well by Springfield? If they think that, then they can vote for my opponent because nothing’s going to change.”
Croke currently serves as the state Representative from the 12th district. She’ll vacate her seat at the end of her term in 2027, leaving the winning primary candidate, Paul Kendrick, to run against Republican candidate Justin Kumar for the seat in November.
Kendrik, a former Obama White House staffer, secured nearly half of the vote before the end of the night Wednesday.
