By Emma Dumain, CQ Staff

Democrat Mike Quigley , a Cook County commissioner, posted a quick victory Tuesday for the 5th District seat to succeed Rahm Emanuel , who gave up his House seat to become President Obama’s chief of staff.

With nearly 80 percent of precincts reporting, Quigley trounced Republican nominee Rosanna Pulido and Green Party candidate Matt Reichel.

Quigley led with 24,082 votes, or 69.6 percent. Pulido posted 8,209 votes (23.7 percent) and Matt Reicheltallied 2,310 votes, 6.7 percent.

The district, which includes Wrigley Field, is a Democratic stronghold, stretching from Chicago’s wealthy North Side lakefront to ethnic neighborhoods on the northwest side and neighboring Cook County suburbs.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine , chairman of the Democratic National Committee, issued a statement around 9 p.m. congratulating Quigley, calling him “another ally of President Obama’s in the effort to rebuild our economy and bring change to Washington.”

“I look forward to working alongside him to help secure legislation that supports President Obama’s vision for our country,” Kaine said.

District voters have only elected a Republican once in the past century, as underscored in the March 3 primary, when Democrats cast more than 54,000 votes, compared with less than 4,400 votes on the Republican side and nearly 500 for the Green Party candidate.

With six Republican candidates in the March 3 primary and a total of 4,387 GOP ballots certified, Pulido was able to win the GOP nomination by securing just 1,006 votes. Not only was that a fraction of the Quigley’s primary vote tally, which topped 12,000, but seven other Democrats running in the primary also won more votes than Pulido.

The imbalance in party registration has been only one of Pulido’s challenges. She also has been dealing with questions about some of her postings on Free Republic, a conservative blog.

First posted April 7, 2009 12:01 a.m.