Fourteen-year Democratic incumbent Dave Koehler of Peoria is the winner of the race for Illinois’ 46th Senate district with 54% of the vote."We’re going to get through this together, you know, businesses have been severely damaged. We need to make sure that we can help and rebuild those businesses. people have been out of work we've got to really start helping our neighbors and helping our small businesses get stabilized again, because that's the backbone of this community," said Koehler.
Koehler first landed a seat in the Illinois Senate in 2006. He was last challenged in 2012 by Pat Sullivan, a Peoria businessman and developer. Sullivan received 46% to Koehler's 54% in that election. Koehler ran unopposed in 2016.
Koehler’s Republican challenger, Mary Burress, currently serves as treasurer for Tazewell County, a position she has held since 2010.
“It really truly was a great race. I want to thank each and every one of my supporters. I’m still treasurer, you know, I love serving the public. So the four year term that I have, I have two more years, so we will see what happens in two years," she said.
The 46th legislative district includes portions of Peoria, Tazewell, and Fulton Counties which includes the cities of East Peoria, Pekin, Canton, Lewistown, and most of the City of Peoria.
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