The 115th State Representative Terri Bryant will continue to serve her district according to election results.
"I'm humbled," she said in her acceptance speech. "It looks like this win is going to be really big, I'm honored to accept the win tonight."
Bryant says her opponent Marsha Griffin worked really hard and Bryant thanks her for running a good campaign.
Nearly 100 people are at the Elks in Murphysboro rallying around Bryant and celebrating her win. The energy is relaxed and happy waiting on the result of the U.S. congressional race between incumbent Rep. Mike Bost and Democratic opponent Brendan Kelly.
Bryant says today she’s been relaxed and feeling optimistic about her campaign.
"This campaign actually has been, I'm not going to say perfect, but it certainly has been one that I'm very proud of," she said.
Bryant says in comparison to her last campaign, she tried this year to not use negative campaign ads. But, she says sometimes negative ads are necessary to show differences between candidates.
She says she thinks her constituents went to the ballot box with concerns of jobs, Southern Illinois University’s future, and the second amendment on their minds.
"As Southern Illinois University is attacked, so is our way of life attacked," she said. "Because so many folks really depend on the jobs that come from it."
Looking forward, Bryant says a new piece of legislation she is a chief co-sponsor is one that would provide tele-medicine and tele-psych bill to southern Illinois. This would allow patients in southern Illinois to connect with a doctor or mental health professional through a computer.
