Kwame Raoul tops ex-Gov. Quinn in Democratic attorney general race; Harold wins for GOP
With 94 percent of the precincts reporting, Raoul, the veteran lawmaker from the
In his victory speech, Raoul passionately talked about violence and crime in under-resourced communities. He said the campaign lost focus on the real issues, but he did not.
"Criminal justice reform is not about sound bites," Raoul said. "It's about rolling up your sleeves and doing work,"
When Raoul took the stage, he embraced his two children and held them for a moment. Then he gave a tribute to his mother and father and the men and women of organized labor. As attorney general, Raoul promised he would push back on President
"I've always operated in a bipartisan manner," Raoul said. "I've got good friends on the other side of the aisle. To my colleagues in the legislature, I appreciate your support. You know my true character, you know my passion, you know I'm not defined by a campaign contribution. You know I have a 13-year record to prove it."
Raoul will face former Miss America and Harvard Law School graduate
"I'm extremely humbled so many people went out to the polls to support me, and I'm going to work hard to make sure that their interests are represented and to fight to introduce myself to the rest of the voters in the state," Harold said.
She promised to fight public corruption and sexual harassment and said she would work to counter the opioid epidemic.
Raoul and Quinn, who lost the governor's race to
In his speech to supporters, Quinn thanked campaign volunteers and pledged his support to Raoul.
"I'm all for him," Quinn said. "It's important all of us band together now that the primary is over and make sure (Raoul) is elected attorney general of
Attorney
By the time
In his 16-minute speech, Raoul touched upon gun control, mass incarceration and police misconduct. He discussed the need to treat children suffering from the effects of trauma.
"It shouldn't take a tragedy in
During the campaign, Raoul tried to seize on controversies that plagued Quinn's tenure as governor, including a patronage hiring scandal at the
During candidate forums, Quinn tended to sit back while his opponents traded jabs. Even when the criticism was more direct, such as over his decision to sign a bill to decrease pension benefits for state employees, Quinn tried to stay out of the fray.
The Republican race, in contrast, remained relatively low-key. Harold and Grasso appeared together at only a handful of public events.
Harold was Miss America 2003 and used the pageant scholarship to attend Harvard. Harold did not throw an election night party -- she had just a quiet press room at the Palmer House hotel in
She described her voters as "people who want to see a more independent reform-minded attorney general, people interested in challenging the status quo, and who want to see corruption more actively addressed."
Big contributions from the state party and Rauner, who recruited Harold to run, helped get out her message during the primary. Grasso, the former
Despite Rauner's support, Harold said she is willing to make independent choices.
"Ultimately I decided to seek this office because I believe in the independence of the office, and I believe in being able to represent people of all political backgrounds, to give them a voice in a political system that too often seems to act against them," Harold said Tuesday night.
On current controversial topics, Harold has said previously that she is opposed to abortion rights, and that the state should "explore" legalizing marijuana, since she believes it is "inevitable" and may help address the opioid crisis -- but that she would enforce the law whatever it may be.
Harold has said the Miss America pageant allowed her to showcase herself as self-made, saying the experience gives a sense of her "core values."
An earlier version of this story mischaracterized a statement by
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