The 2016 election saw a modest increase in the numbers of Jewish legislators in Washington, D.C., and a decrease of one for the state.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, the Jewish delegation increased its representation from 19 to 22 seats . Five Jews were newly elected to the House, while two Jewish representatives, one from Florida and one from New York, are retiring. The Senate Jewish contingent dropped from nine to eight.

Locally, Democrat Brad Schneider won a tight race against incumbent Bob Dold in Illinois’ 10 ^th District. Schneider previously served in Congress from 2013 to 2015. In Maryland, Democrat Jamie Raskin was elected to the state’s 8th District in an open seat race, while Democrat Josh Gottheimer beat out longtime Republican Rep. Scott Garrett in New Jersey’s 5th District. Elsewhere, Democrat Jacky Rosen, a synagogue president, won Nevada’s 3rd District and Republican David Kustoff won Tennessee’s 8th District.

Sen. Barbara Boxer of California and Reps. Steve Israel of New York and Alan Grayson of Florida will be retiring at the end of this Congress.

Other notable federal election results in Illinois include Rep. Tammy Duckworth defeating incumbent Republican Sen. Mark Kirk for the junior U.S. Senate seat in Illinois; Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi will fill Duckworth’s seat in Illinois’ 8th District, having defeated Peter DiCianni. Krishnamoorthi is the first Hindu Indian-American to be elected to the House.

JUF sent letters to all the outgoing members of the Illinois delegation thanking them for their continuous support for JUF’s policy priorities and their service to the country.

At the state level, Rep. Jack Franks, a member of the Jewish Caucus from McHenry County, stepped down this year to campaign for and win the position of Chair of the McHenry County Board. There were no other changes in the representation of Jewish legislators in Springfield, which now totals two senators and eight representatives.

On the whole, Republicans gained six seats in Illinois General Assembly, four in the House and two in the Senate. This new makeup means the House no longer holds a super-majority.