Illinois 49th State Senate District · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
1892–2024 (partial returns from 1876) · 38 presidential cycles · 38 with a vote-share denominator · 34 with a national benchmark
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
Barack Obama2008
59.8%
50,693 votes · D+21.2 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964 · 59.7%
Republican
Warren G. Harding1920
72.0%
5,793 votes · R+49.4 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Richard Nixon, 1972 · 62.0%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Joe Biden2020
60,148votes
57.4% of the vote · D+17.1 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Kamala Harris, 2024 · 53,797 votes
Republican
Donald Trump2024
44,466votes
44.3% of the vote · D+9.3 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · 42,269 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Democratic
Barack Obama2008
+14.0pts D vs U.S.
Place D+21.2 · U.S. D+7.3 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Al Smith, 1928 · +13.4 pts
Republican
Warren G. Harding1920
+23.2pts R vs U.S.
Place R+49.4 · U.S. R+26.2 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Charles E. Hughes, 1916 · +22.5 pts
current representation
Current officeholders
DMeg Loughran CappelState Senate · 49
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
U.S. House elections · 3 House
Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.
U.S. House
Each row is a county-allocated estimate of U.S. House votes for this district — county returns apportioned onto its boundary, not precinct-counted. “Vote lead” is the estimated local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.
Source · Akashic county-allocated estimate from certified county returns, House; not precinct-counted.
Year
Vote lead
Democratic
Republican
Total
2024
D
52.4%52,134
47.6%47,417
99,551
2020
D
53.4%55,668
46.6%48,579
104,247
2018
D
51.3%18,125
48.7%17,188
35,313
Illinois 49th State Senate District sits in the Upper Midwest. In 2024 it voted Democratic.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 21.2 points in 2008 and a Republican high of 49.4 points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 7.8 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 9.3 points.
A population of 217,224, a 55% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $117,693 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State Senate District 43 and State Senate District 42.
Akashic
Political twins — state-senate districts
The state-senate districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons → · Or open the source-auditable district brief for electoral baseline, electorate, current-cycle coverage, geography, official dates, and methodology. Open campaign intelligence report →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Illinois 49th State Senate District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/17049/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
How did Illinois 49th State Senate District vote in 2024?
In 2024, Illinois 49th State Senate District voted Democratic by 9.3 points (D+9.3), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 100,450 votes cast, 53,797 went Democratic and 44,466 went Republican.
When did Illinois 49th State Senate District last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Illinois 49th State Senate District voted Republican was 1988.
How many people live in Illinois 49th State Senate District?
Illinois 49th State Senate District has a population of 217,224 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Illinois 49th State Senate District?
Median household income in Illinois 49th State Senate District is $117,693 — above the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Illinois 49th State Senate District?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Illinois 49th State Senate District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 19 went Republican.