Republican Lindsay Parkhurst defeated Democratic incumbent Kate Cloonen for Illinois’ 79th House seat in Tuesday’s election.

The seat was among the targets in Illinois as the GOP worked at wrestling control away from House Speaker Mike Madigan. Parkhurst won 53% of the vote to Cloonen’s 47%.

Other representatives, Tom Bennett and Chad Hays, were unopposed in their districts for re-election as Republicans.

A statement from Madigan’s office on the election results has Madigan saying “voters clearly stated they wish to maintain a wide Democratic majority in the Illinois House and maintain a strong check on Bruce Rauner and his anti-middle class agenda. Madigan said voters support the vision of the Democratic Party with the victories of Tammy Duckworth and Susanna Mendoza.

Parkhurst said her win is about change. She looks forward to getting to work for the people of the 79th District.

94.1 WGFA