Republican David Dugan secured the Madison County circuit judge seat he was appointed to in 2017 after John Barberis Jr. was elected to the Fifth District.
Dugan defeated Democrat Marc Parker by a margin of 52.4 to 47.6 percent.
"I am very pleased, of course, that I've won the election and have the honor of continuing to serve as a Circuit Court Judge. I am also pleased with the exemplary way Marc Parker and I ran our campaigns. Marc and I met (sic) discussed this last year and I had no doubt both of us would be honorable in our campaigns. I thank Marc Parker for his steadfastness to his word," Dugan said in a statement.
Parker congratulated Dugan in a post on his campaign's Facebook page.
"Thank you all for your support over the past 15 months," he wrote. "We came up a bit short. That's the way it goes. Congratulations to Judge Dugan. We agreed 15 months ago to run on our own records … no negativity. We did that. Good luck to him. Thank you all again for your help. I'll see you soon. Take Care."
Parker's campaign committee received about $158,409.59 in contributions, with a $72,500 push in the weeks leading up to the election.
Dugan's campaign committee received less than a third of Parker's funds, with $43,160 in contributions.
Dugan was appointed to Barberis’ circuit judge seat March 3, 2017 by the Illinois Supreme Court, upon the recommendation of Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier.
Prior to his time on the bench, Dugan worked in private practice since 1986, mostly in civil litigation. He also served as a part-time assistant state’s attorney.
Dugan received a degree in political science in 1982 from Eastern Illinois University. He earned his law degree from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1985.
Parker announced his candidacy for circuit judge in August 2017.
He has over 25 years of experience representing plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits and has had his own practice in Maryville since 2012.
He received his undergraduate degree with honors from SIUE in 1987 and his law degree from St. Louis University in 1990, cum laude.