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Harold, Raoul Win Illinois Attorney General Primaries

Erika Harold won the Republican primary for attorney general. State Sen. Kwame Raoul won the Democratic primary for attorney general.
Erika Harold's and Kwame Raoul's campaigns
Erika Harold won the Republican primary for attorney general. State Sen. Kwame Raoul won the Democratic primary for attorney general.

Erika Harold won the Republican nomination for Illinois attorney general, while state Sen. Kwame Raoul defeated a crowded race to win the Democratic nod. They'll face off in the general election in November.

Incumbent Attorney General Lisa Madigan set off a scramble last year when she made a surprise announcement she would not seek a fifth term. The race drew ten candidates in all.

Listen to the story here.

With funding from the Republican Party and Governor Bruce Rauner, Harold beat former Burr Ridge mayor Gary Grasso, winning 60 percent of the vote.

“It’s such a humbling feeling to know that voters throughout the state found that my message resonated with them,” Harold, a former Miss America and Harvard-educated lawyer, told CLTV in Chicago Tuesday night.

All eight of the Democratic candidates promised to challenge President Donald Trump and his policies on immigration, abortion and LGBTQ rights.

In his victory speech, Raoul talked about his own immigrant heritage.

“My father always taught to me a proud Haitian American and I don’t care what Donald Trump said, I didn’t come from no type of hole.”

Raoul edged out former Governor Pat Quinn by just a few percentage points.

Copyright 2018 NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS

Mary is a reporter at NPR Illinois and graduated from the Public Affairs Reporting program atUISand received her BA in International Studies from American University. Previously Mary worked as a planning consultant and reported for the State Journal-Register where she covered city government.