After a tumultuous race, Democrat Richard Schmack was elected the next DeKalb County state’s attorney.

Schmack beat out Republican incumbent Clay Campbell by 752 votes.

“I’ve been working very hard on this election for over six months,” Schmack said just minutes after the unofficial results were released. “I can’t thank my supporters enough. Everyone has been great.”

With all 90 precincts reporting in, Schmack received 50.96 percent of the vote (19,876 votes). Campbell had 49.04 percent of the vote (19,124 votes). There were about 39,000 votes cast in the election.

The race was heated in the months leading up to Election Day. Schmack raised allegations of professional misconduct regarding Campbell’s former employee, John Farrell. He also criticized Campbell’s handling of the McCullough and NIU coffee fund cases have. Campbell, who announced Monday he wants the NIU Police Department investigated by the State Police, said Schmack used such issues to further his political campaign.

Schmack, the 56-year-old Democratic challenger, resides in Sycamore with his wife Jackie and two sons, Eric and Ben. He’s been a practicing attorney for 31 years, 27 of which were spent in Sycamore at his law office.

Prior to opening his own law office, he served as an assistant state’s attorney under DeKalb County state’s attorney Philip L. DiMarzio.

“Now that I’ve won, I’ve got 26 days to wrap up all of my private practice cases,” Schmack said. “So I’ll be very busy these next few weeks.”

Schmack said he owes his success to his hard work on the campaign trail and the support of his family.

“I’ve knocked on four or five thousand doors in the past six months to introduce myself to members of the community,” Schmack said. “I can’t thank my wife Jackie, and our two sons, enough for their support as well.”

The core function of the county state’s attorney is to prosecute those who violate criminal laws within DeKalb County’s jurisdiction. The state’s attorney also represents the county government in all civil cases that DeKalb County is a party.

Campbell could not be reached for comment as of press time.