(MCT) — When longtime state Rep. Mark Beaubien died last year, his widow, Dee Beaubien, thought about seeking the appointment to replace him in the northwest suburban 52nd District. But politics was low on her list of priorities in the wake of her husband's death, so she decided against it.

A year later, the 70-year-old from Barrington Hills has entered the race as an independent for the seat that her Republican husband held for 15 years. In November she'll face David McSweeney, 46, also of Barrington Hills.