Terra Costa Howard wins 48th District Illinois House seat

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Terra Costa Howard has won the 48th District seat in the Illinois House of Representatives, defeating challenger Peter Breen, according to returns as reported by the Associated Press.

• The district includes Glen Ellyn and Lombard in DuPage County.Howard reported contributions of $1.8 million in 2018, three times the amount raised by Breen in the same period. Both candidates received substantial financial support form their parties in a bid to secure control of the seat.Breen won election in 2016 with 56 percent of the vote. The district attracted no challenger to the Republican candidate in 2014 and 2012.RELATED:GOP lawmakers, anti-abortion groups sue state over abortion law
• Dawn of an ERA? State House passes Equal Rights Amendment — 95 years later
• Bill forces docs to participate in abortion

The Sun-Times endorsed Breen for the 48th District Illinois House seat, saying that his willingness to work with Democrats to solve the state’s problems should outweigh his conservative stance on social issues.Breen was involved in the government of the town of Lombard before being elected state representative in 2014. Since 2017, he has been the floor leader of the Republican minority in the House.

A cultural conservative, Breen has been a forceful advocate against measures to increase access to abortions in Illinois, and opposed ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment on that basis.He squared of with a co-partisan early in 2018 after a Republican House candidate reportedly used slurs when speaking to Republican Attorney General candidate Erika Harold. He called on the candidate, Burt Minor, to step down.A civically-engaged attorney, Howard served on the Glen Ellyn School Board for two terms, including one as board president. She has emphasized education and reproductive rights in her campaign.

For live election results, visit the Sun-Times election guide.