How it Felt for Two Democrats Who Flipped Republican Seats
Rep.-elect Erica Bray-Parker of Wheaton and Sen.-elect Marsie Geldert-Murphey of Glen Carbon both flipped Republican-held seats Tuesday.
Two Democrats who flipped Republican seats in different corners of the state are sharing their experiences as the dust settles from the General Election.
Marsie Geldert-Murphey, a civil engineer from Glen Carbon with no political experience, defeated Republican Sen. Erica Harriss (R-Glen Carbon) Tuesday night 53%-47% in a contentious, expensive Metro East battle.
Erica Bray-Parker, a retired social studies and civics teacher from Wheaton and member of the Wheaton City Council, won an open seat in a traditionally suburban Republican district. She defeated Robert Vrankovich 59%-41% to replace Rep. Amy Grant (R-Wheaton), who did not seek re-election.
Bray-Parker’s victory turned into one of the most expected flips in the state, and was the top seat most likely to flip in our final rankings.
“This is a red district. It was drawn a red district,” Bray-Parker said. “I think the people that were most confident [was] because they know me and I’m not a newbie in the area. I’d like to think I’ve established a reputation as a very hard worker.”
Geldert-Murphey, meanwhile, was locked in a toss up race until the final day.
I knew that this was gonna be a tough race from the very beginning. I’ve been telling people I don’t know what I don’t know because I’ve never run for office before,” she said. “I was never feeling that things were comfortable or easy. I was hard charging the whole time, both during the primary and during the General Election. I never felt comfortable, to be honest with you.”
As results came in Tuesday night, Geldert-Murphey said she tried to stay as analytical as possible.
“I was just sitting with the team and my immediate family and we were watching the numbers come in. Luckily, I have a minor in math, all engineers do. So I was slicing and dicing numbers along with them,” she said. “It was anxious all night, of course. I wasn’t emotional about it. I was more getting into the understanding the process and trying to figure out what this all means. My family was very anxious, of course.”
Bray-Parker said waiting for returns was…fun. Not something you often hear from candidates.
“It was very exciting. We played the game until the buzzer rings. We run all the way through the finish line and we did,” she said. We had an election night party and the numbers didn’t drop right away from DuPage County. So that got a little nerve wracking. There was definitely some anxiety. But my numbers just kept upticking and upticking and upticking.”
Now, the new lawmakers turn their attention to Springfield.
Geldert-Murphey will be one of at least five new Senate Democrats who flipped seats Tuesday. (Democrats trail in another race that could make it a gain of six.)
“I wanna come in and make some profound difference for us down here in the Metro East,” she said. “It’s really initially gonna be about me understanding and getting to know the others in the caucus for sure, and outside of the caucus, quite frankly.
Bray-Parker will be one of at least six Democrat who flipped GOP seats, and, as a self-described moderate, she says she’s ready to find a lane in the Statehouse.
“I’m at a stage of my life [that] I’ve had the life experience. I’m a woman in my 50’s that has had a full career. So I’m not overly confident, but I’m confident that I’m gonna do my homework and figure out who’s who and what’s what and where I fit in best, especially for my constituents.”
