INCUMBENT DUNN LEADSW IN ILLINOIS SENATE RACE

PINCKNEYVILLE -- Incumbent Republican Ralph Dunn held a 3,000-vote lead with 56 percent of the vote counted in the hotly-contested 58th Illinois State Senate District race Tuesday against Democrat Kenneth Buzbee.

Dunn, who has served in the Senate since 1985, moved to the front as early returns trickled in and never with more than half of the vote in.

The race gave voters an opportunity to vote for candidates who have experienced lengthy tenures in the state legislature.

Buzbee, a lobbyist from Makanda, served a dozen years as the 58th District Senator until leaving politics after a failed run at Congress in 1984.

Dunn, of rural DuQuoin, served 12 years as state representative before replacing Buzbee in the senate in 1985.

The figures given by Buzbee's office at 11:30 showed Dunn at 19,700 and Buzbee at 22,720 with 56 percent of the ballots counted.