116th House seat moves into GOP hands, as Friess beats Reitz

Air Force veteran David Friess has delivered the only Democratic southern Illinois House district to the GOP, with a thumping Tuesday night of incumbent state Rep. Nathan Reitz.

With 100% of the precincts counted, the unofficial results in the 116th district show the Republican Friess with 34,378 votes to Reitz's 18,589.

The 116th covers all or parts of Monroe, Perry, Randolph and St. Clair counties.

Reitz was appointed to the 116th seat after state Rep. Jerry Costello II, a Democrat, was appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to be director of law enforcement for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.