ELMHURST, IL – This decade, the Elmhurst-based 45th House District has been an election battleground.
Those days appear to be over.
Like much of suburban America, the district has turned Democratic during the Trump era.
In Tuesday's election, Democrat Marti Deuter, a former Elmhurst alderman, prevailed with 62 percent of the vote, 25,399 votes to Republican Gina Parrilli's 15,579, according to unofficial results.
Besides Elmhurst, the district includes all or parts of towns such as Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills and Westmont, among others. It was considered a battleground as recently as 2024.
In 2022, conservative Republican Rep. Deanne Mazzochi of Elmhurst lost to Elmhurst Democrat Jenn Ladisch Douglass, who bowed out after one term. It was a seat long held by Republicans.
Deuter defeated the more moderate Elmhurst Republican Dennis Reboletti in 2024, with nearly 54 percent of the vote.
In that election, Democrats donated $1.7 million to Deuter's campaign, while Reboletti received $381,000 from his party.
In the final weeks of this year's campaign, Deuter drew about $100,000 from the Democratic Party, while Parrilli reported no such contributions from her party.
Recently, Deuter has also received contributions from Anthropic, unions, gambling interests and Big Pharma.
In the last quarter, Parrilli, a Westmont resident, reported donations of about $1,000.
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