Democrat Daniel Biss won the 9th Congressional District seat Tuesday, Nov. 3, succeeding retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky in a district that runs through Skokie, part of Wilmette and other North Shore communities.

The Associated Press called the race for Biss at about 7:50 p.m., less than an hour after polls closed, the Chicago Tribune reported. With an estimated 60% of votes counted at that point, Biss held roughly 79% of the total, according to unofficial results cited by the Tribune. The Evanston RoundTable reported the AP call came when Biss had 79% with 8% of votes counted. The two outlets reported different shares of votes tallied at the time of the call.

Biss celebrated at Jarvis Square Tavern in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, surrounded by supporters, family and Schakowsky, the Tribune reported.

"It is an honor of a lifetime to stand in front of you as the next congressional representative from the 9th District of Illinois," Biss told the crowd, according to the Tribune.

Elleson conceded by phone shortly before Biss took the stage, the Tribune reported. Biss thanked Elleson for running a clean campaign.

Instead of staging a watch party, Elleson and his wife, Sue, visited seriously ill people in Chicago-area hospitals on election night, the Tribune reported.

"Someone's got to win, and someone's got to lose," Elleson said, according to the Tribune.

CBS News Chicago projected Biss as the winner as well. The AP also declared Biss the winner in a dispatch carried by KTVO.

Biss will take office Jan. 3, joining the 120th Congress, the RoundTable reported.

The race

The 9th District seat was open for the first time since 1999 following Schakowsky's retirement after 14 terms, according to ABC 7 Chicago. The district stretches from Chicago's North Side through Skokie and part of Wilmette and out to McHenry County, according to The Record North Shore. No Republican had won the seat since 1946, according to CBS News Chicago.

Biss, 49, served as Evanston's mayor starting in 2021 and stepped down in October, according to Patch. Before becoming mayor, he spent six years in the Illinois Senate and two in the Illinois House. He is a former mathematics professor at the University of Chicago. He ran for governor in 2018, finishing second in the Democratic primary to JB Pritzker, according to CBS News Chicago.

Biss won a crowded 15-candidate Democratic primary in March with 29.4% of the vote, according to certified results from the Illinois State Board of Elections. He said restoring cuts to health care would be his top priority if elected, according to ABC 7.

Elleson is the pastor of Lakewood Chapel, a nondenominational Christian church in Arlington Heights that he founded more than 20 years ago, according to ABC 7. He won the Republican primary with 48.9% of the vote over three opponents, according to CBS News Chicago. He did not do any fundraising for the general election, the Chicago Tribune reported in October.

Elleson ran for the 9th District seat twice before. In 2018, he lost to Schakowsky with 26.5% of the vote. In 2022, he was removed from the ballot for failing to collect enough valid signatures, CBS News Chicago reported.

Forum in Skokie

The two candidates held their only joint forum Sept. 24 at Skokie Public Library. League of Women Voters chapters from across the district, including Wilmette and Glenview/Glencoe, helped organize the event, The Record North Shore reported. The candidates clashed over immigration and data centers, according to the Daily Northwestern.

Also on the ballot

Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Glencoe and Northfield voters also weighed in on the open 9th State Senate District race. Democrat Patrick Hanley faced Republican Tom Lally for the seat left open by state Sen. Laura Fine, who chose not to seek reelection, according to Patch Wilmette. The 9th Senate District covers all or portions of Glencoe, Kenilworth, Northfield, Wilmette and Winnetka, Patch reported.

Northfield Township voters faced three referendum questions, according to Fox 32: whether the township should explore letting its food pantry provide pre-packaged meals, whether it should explore garbage collection for unincorporated areas, and whether the township's Road District should be abolished and its duties assumed by the township government.

Cook County voters also decided on an advisory referendum asking whether Illinois should adopt a 3% income tax surcharge on millionaires, with revenue split between property tax relief and public education funding, according to a Patch Wilmette-Kenilworth election guide.

Early results reported Tuesday night indicated Democrats will likely hold majorities in both chambers of Congress, the RoundTable reported. Gov. JB Pritzker won a third term, and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won the open U.S. Senate seat, according to the RoundTable.