WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic Rep. Bill Foster won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing Illinois on Tuesday. 

Foster, a physicist and businessman, defeated Republican Jerry Evans. Foster was first elected to Congress in 2008 in a special election to replace former U.S. House Speaker Denny Hastert, a Republican who held the seat for two decades. 

He lost a reelection bid two years later but won in 2012 in a newly drawn Democrat-leaning district and has been reelected since. 

The district includes Chicago's farthest-flung west and northwest suburbs and surrounding communities.

Foster won with 55% of the vote, compared with 45% for Evans.