CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- While votes are still being counted and there is still not a definitive winner in the 14th Congressional District in the far western suburbs, one candidate believes he has won.
Out of the more than 377,000 votes picked up in total so far by the incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Lauren Underwood and Republican challenger Jim Oberweis, Oberweis has a lead of about 900 votes.
While Oberweis has admitted there were numerous votes still to be counted, he is claiming he has won the contest.
On Wednesday, the dairy company owner put out a video claiming victory.
“Today, after contacting every County Clerk across the 14th District, I am pleased to say that, with only a handful of outstanding ballots, it appears that we have won a tough fought campaign against Lauren Underwood,” Oberweis said. “This race has been an uphill battle to say the least. Lauren Underwood has enjoyed a tremendous financial advantage having outspent me 4-1. But despite all of the money she spent, we prevailed.”
But Congresswoman Lauren Underwood is not throwing in the towel. In fact, in a statement she issued through a spokeswoman, she said "Jim Oberweis doesn't get to call this election: the voters do. There are thousands of votes that have yet to be counted. We appreciate every voter who made their voice heard, and our county clerks and election officials must count every ballot in as expeditious and transparent a manner as is possible. Based on publicly available data, we remain confident that once ballots are counted, this race will reflect that the voters have reelected Congresswoman Lauren Underwood."
Oberweis’ camp contends there are not enough votes left to be counted for Underwood to make up the difference.
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The 14th District is located west of the immediate Chicago area and includes parts of Lake, McHenry, Kane, DeKalb, Kendall, DuPage, and Will counties from the southern boundary of Kendall County north to the Wisconsin state line.
Oberweis had more votes in Dekalb, Kendall, Lake and McHenry with Underwood leading in Will, DuPage and Kane.
However, election officials said mail-in ballots post-marked by Tuesday, Nov. 3 can be tallied up until Nov. 17, and are still being counted.