Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who lost her bid for the 7th Congressional seat to La Shawn K. Ford, beat appointed incumbent state central committeewoman Emma Mitts in both Chicago and the suburbs.
Conyears-Ervin had 31% of the vote in the city to Mitt’s 28%, a 2,428 vote advantage. She widened her lead in the suburbs, with 11,028 votes to Mitt’s 8,221, giving her a total 5,265 vote advantage. Mary “May” Larry of Maywood was a distant third.
Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch took a major step forward in broadening his political power on Election Day with a landslide win over Oak Park Township Supervisor Tim Thomas for an open Democratic State Central Committeeman seat.
Unlike other races on the primary ballot, the committeeman race was not a head-to-head contest. Instead, voters were instructed to “vote for two” among five candidates. Under state law, the top male vote getter and top female vote getter win election to the party office.
With 277 of 291 precincts reporting, Welch had more than twice as many votes in Chicago wards as Thomas, 22.24% to 9.3%. With 100% of suburban precincts reporting, Welch had 17,702 votes, a muscular 37.52%. Thomas garnered 5,486 votes.
Welch’s campaign had a carefully crafted air of inevitability since last summer. He had wasted no time lining up support in the 7th district committeeman race, announcing his candidacy and a list of nearly 20 endorsements on Aug. 31, the day Danny K. Davis formally endorsed Ford as his replacement in Congress.
Welch soon had nearly 60 endorsements, reflecting extensive support in some 20 Chicago wards, adding to his solid power base in Proviso township. He also built a massive campaign fund for a central committeeman race.
It’s tempting to compare the contest in biblical David and Goliath terms, except that, while David’s odds were long, he at least had a slingshot. Welch built a $715,000 war chest, some 367 times the $1,869 Thomas had raised, according to Illinois State Board of Election records. Welch received more than $519,000 in 46 individual contributions, including $338,060 from 11 state reps, many on his leadership team.
While the Democratic Party of Illinois did pay $95,185 for three political mailers supporting Welch in mid-February, his state central committeeman fund, on Feb. 5 sent the DPI $20,000 and his personal campaign fund, People for Emanuel “Chris” Welch, sent the DPI $100,000.
The numerous House members who sent as much as $50,000 to Team Welch for the committeeman race can expect many times that in assistance if needed from Welch’s Democrat’s for the Illinois House. In the 2024 election cycle, Welch moved $11 million to fellow Democrats through that and other committees.
The post Conyears-Ervin wrests committeewoman seat from Emma Mitts appeared first on Austin Weekly News.
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March 24, 2026 at 08:54AM
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