In a political rarity, the race for the 52nd House District is a two-party race with a third-party candidate.

Republican candidate David McSweeney won a three-way March primary to get on the Nov. 6 ballot. But instead of running unopposed – the Democratic Party did not run a candidate – he faces a challenge from independent candidate Dee Beaubien, the widow of former district Rep. Mark Beaubien.

Beaubien calls herself a social moderate compared with McSweeney who can reach across the aisle and break partisan gridlock in Springfield. But to McSweeney, Beaubien is not an independent, but dependent on campaign help and funding from powerful Democratic House speaker Michael Madigan.