47th House District Results: Zordani Concedes To Mazzochi

This story updated as of 7:20 a.m. Thursday.

ELMHURST, IL — Republican state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi's opponent conceded defeat Wednesday morning after a battle in which both sides spent hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"I expect my opponent to retain her lead and keep her seat," Democrat Jennifer Zordani of Clarendon Hills said in an interview with Patch. "She's our representative now, and I wish her all the best."

With all 99 precincts of votes in, Elmhurst's Mazzochi had 54.2 percent (32,688) of the vote to Zordani's 45.8 percent (27,640), the results show. Mazzochi represents the 47th House District, which includes Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills and Western Springs.

Zordani said a decisive factor in the election was the state constitutional amendment allowing a progressive income tax, which went down to defeat. That amendment, she said, brought voters for Mazzochi, who opposed the amendment.

Mazzochi's campaign didn't return a message for comment.

A deluge of mail-in votes cast this election amid the coronavirus pandemic — many of which were not be counted Tuesday night — makes this election unlike any in the past. Officials have two weeks post-election to count all provisional votes.

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With suburbs nationwide rapidly becoming more Democratic, Zordani's party saw this as a good opportunity for a way to expand House Speaker Michael Madigan's majority.

Both candidates are lawyers. Mazzochi's firm specializes in life sciences law, particularly in the medical and pharmaceutical area. Zordani provides regulatory, transactional and litigation counsel to financial services firms.

Mazzochi, formerly the chairwoman of the College of DuPage board, ran for state representative in 2018 and beat her Democratic opponent, Jim Caffrey, with 52 percent of the vote. She was appointed in mid-2018 when the longtime Republican incumbent, Patricia Bellock, resigned early.

Both Mazzochi and Zordani followed their parties' playbooks. Mazzochi ran as an anti-Madigan fiscal conservative who stays away from social issues.

Check other key Illinois election results:

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Meanwhile, Zordani painted Mazzochi as more invested in the pharmaceutical companies she represents as a lawyer than in the constituents of the 47th District. Zordani declined to say whether she would vote for Madigan as speaker, though she called him the "face of machine politics." Most of her campaign money came from Democratic organizations controlled by Madigan.

While Mazzochi wouldn't reveal whether she supported Donald Trump for president, she had plenty to say in his favor on her personal Facebook page in 2016.

Patch also recently found Mazzochi's "Snark of the Day" posts from 2016 where she took shots at transgender people, explained why a "white, male Republican" president was best for liberty and asserted that President Barack Obama sought revenge against "colonialist white men." Mazzochi's campaign has declined to answer questions about the posts.

Since 2016, Mazzochi appears to have stayed away from such comments.

A spokesman for Mazzochi's biggest individual contributor, Ken Griffin, told Patch the lawmaker's 2016 posts do not represent his values. He made his $200,000 donation before Patch's story about Mazzochi's commentary was published.

Check other stories about 47th House District candidates Deanne Mazzochi and Jennifer Zordani:

Elmhurst Rep: Obama Disliked 'Colonialist White Men'

Elmhurst Rep Says 'Trump Loves America' in 2016 Post

State's Richest Man Gives $200K To Elmhurst And Plainfield Reps

LGBT Group Denounces Elmhurst Lawmaker

Will Elmhurst-Area Democrat Back Madigan?