In the Illinois 15th Congressional District race, Republican candidate and incumbent Tim Johnson defeated David Gill for the third time. With 74 percent of precincts reporting, Johnson had 65 percent of the vote.

The 15th district contains part of eastern Illinois, including the cities of Charleston, Urbana, Danville and Champaign. Johnson has already served 5 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He grew up in Urbana and is a graduate of the University.

With this victory, Johnson has continued his perfect record in elections, which began with his initial campaign for the Illinois house in 1976.

“I’m deeply indebted to the thousands of people in the 15th Congressional District who took the time to vote for me. It’s very humbling that they have that faith in me to represent their interests in Washington, D.C.,” Johnson said in a press release. “But I am under no illusion that this was some kind of popularity contest. It’s not about Tim Johnson. It’s about the direction of our country.”

Spokesman Phil Bloomer said Johnson did not feel there was much to celebrate with all the problems the country is facing.

“He’s eager to return to Washington, D.C. because there’s a lot of work to be done,” Bloomer said.

“There is a level of anxiety rippling through our country that I haven’t seen in nearly 40 years of public service,” Johnson said. “This was a vote for a return to a constitutionally limited government, for lower taxes, for less spending and for a more responsive government.”

Gill said he was not disappointed for himself, but for the people of Illinois.

“I thought I had a powerful message to bring to Washington,” he said. “I think that the people deserve better than they’ve been getting for the past decade.”

Johnson is most well-known for his phone calls to constituents, which he tries to make every day.

Johnson said in a press release he was going to “energetically” pursue a new agenda when Republicans take control of Congress in January.

“I’m just one of 435 voices in the House of Representatives, so my influence on the national stage has its limitations,” he said. “But I can make a difference in cutting through the bureaucracy of the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Veterans’ Administration or other federal agencies that often confound people. I plan to continue those efforts as always.”