ALTON - While many Democrats in Madison County received bad news from the votes being tallied in real-time overnight, Dan Beiser was able to celebrate an abundant win at Johnson's Corner in Alton

From the time of the first precincts reporting to the end of the evening, Beiser was leading his Republican rival, Wood River Township Supervisor Mike Babcock. By the end of the evening, the unofficial results with all 225 precincts in Madison County reporting declared Beiser the winner by as much as five percentage points. 

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"That five point margin of victory speaks well for the campaign," Beiser said. "We now have the confidence of a job done and a good operation in place." 

Besides those Madison County precincts, Beiser also represents three Jersey County precincts in the Illinois General Assembly. His district includes Alton, Elsah, Wood River, Roxana, South Roxana, Moro and Bethalto, among other towns in the River Bend. He said his commitment to these constituents preserved his position in an otherwise anti-establishment wave of ballots. 

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"The heart of my being in office is constituent service," he said. 

During his campaign, Beiser said he and volunteers have been making phone calls, sending letters and going door-to-door to secure votes.  Now that Election Day jitters have ended, and Beiser can shift gears from campaigning, he said his main focus for his constituents is the economy. 

"Obviously, we have to continue working toward getting U.S. Steel online in Granite City," he said. "Everyone relies on a good job to have a good life and provide for their families."

Beiser celebrated his victory among friends and family Tuesday night at Johnson's Corner, located at 2000 State St. in Alton. He said Johnson's Corner was the location of his first fundraiser in 1989 when he was the treasurer for the City of Alton. 

He did not have time to reflect on his fellow Democrats in his district, many of whom were voted out of office. He also did not have anything to say about Babcock's campaign, which at times was venomous and painted Beiser as a crony of Illinois General Assembly Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, who is despised by many anti-establishment voters across the state. 

"I think we'll just focus on our operations, and the success we had Tuesday night," Beiser said.

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