Voters from Winnetka to Evanston to Skokie and Northbrook watched the race for their state senator come down to razor-thin margins on March 17, Election Night, but Evanston-born Patrick Hanley eventually declared victory over Rachel Ruttenberg in the Democratic primary, per unofficial results.

The Associated Press called the race a little after 11 p.m., with Hanley receiving 51.6% of the vote over Ruttenberg’s 48.4% for the Democratic nomination in the 9th District State Senate race, which includes all or portions of those north suburbs, in addition to Wilmette, Morton Grove, Glenview, Kenilworth and Golf.

“I’m so grateful to everybody that worked on the campaign, and then of course, I’m so happy and pleased with the result,” Hanley told Pioneer Press.

“We had hundreds of people that all pitched in and helped out throughout the campaign, knocking doors, making phone calls, stuffing envelopes, doing all the things that we needed to do to succeed and engage with voters,” Hanley said.

“But also we ran a campaign that did a lot of the work that I think voters were looking for from public leaders. We helped establish a rapid response team when ICE was raiding our communities… It’s that kind of energetic, proactive leadership that folks are looking for right now.”

In a deeply blue district, Hanley’s nomination likely secures a future seat win in November’s general election, where he will run against Republican candidate Tom Lally.

The Springfield seat has been held since 2019 by State Sen. Laura Fine, who chose not to run again. Fine elected instead to run a campaign to succeed the retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District in this midterm year.

Fine conceded the race for Congress late Tuesday evening, finishing third behind Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and progressive commentator Kat Abughazaleh. Fine will serve out her state Senate term through January.

If Hanley wins in the municipal election this November, he said he plans to hit the ground running for his first 30 days in office.

“There’s a lot of work that we need to do to protect Illinoisans from a federal government that’s lost its way,” Hanley said, “and then also make sure that we’re building a state that’s more affordable, that is greener [and] that is growing.”

Hanley said one of his first initiatives in office would be to take a look at ranked choice voting, with the intention of improving legislation around the way residents vote and “elevating candidates” who appeal to a broader base of voters.

“There’s this feeling that the country is going off the rails…states are in the driver’s seat now, and so these state legislative roles are so important.”

While Hanley was born in Evanston, he was raised in Northbrook and Glenview.

Having worked for more than a decade in Washington D.C. for both the U.S. Senate and Department of Justice, Hanley returned to Illinois following a stint abroad to earn his master’s degree in public policy and business from the University of Chicago, according to his campaign website.

After working as a management consultant during the pandemic to counsel state governing agencies, he went on in 2020 to lead the New Trier Democrats, a political advocacy group based in Winnetka.

In 2024, Hanley founded the Winnetka Future Energy Coalition, which advocates for clean and renewable energy across the state. He is also the co-founder of Operation Swing State, a grassroots coalition of Chicago and Illinois volunteers working to mobilize the public in support of Democratic candidates in battleground states like Wisconsin and Michigan, according to his website.

Looking ahead, Hanley plans to continue speaking with voters about what Democrats want to see from the future of the party, but more importantly, gain a better understanding of what local community members want from their state representatives.

“I’m looking forward to getting back into the community and having those conversations,” Hanley said.

Following her concession, Hanley said Ruttenberg called him Wednesday morning to congratulate his unofficial win. “It was a very kind and gracious call,” he added.

“While this may not be the result we hoped for, I am so proud of the authentic, people-powered campaign we ran,” Ruttenberg said in a statement to the Pioneer Press on Thursday.

“I look forward to uniting as Democrats over the coming days, and making sure we have a strong blue wave headed toward the November general election,” she said.