1986Flipped from RepublicanFinal resultsIncumbent defeated
1986 election for Illinois Legislative District 51
Illinois State Senate · Illinois
Penny L. Severns (D) won with 53.4% of the vote, defeating James H. Rupp (R) by 6.9 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Penny L. SevernsDemocrat · winner
53.4%31,646
James H. RuppRepublican · incumbent
46.6%27,576
59,222 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1986
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET