Illinois will get its second African American attorney general in state history after this fall’s general election. State Sen. Kwame Raoul and former Miss America Erika Harold will face off in November.
Race will be perhaps one of the few things that Republican Harold and Democrat Raoul have in common. Both are African American, but they have vastly different views of the state of Illinois and the country in general.
Raoul used his victory speech in the Democratic race for attorney general to attack President Donald Trump, Harold’s alleged past comments about gay parents, and her ties to the Gov. Bruce Rauner.
He then said he hopes to run a more dignified race this fall.
“We can spend all our time talking about who supports who,” Raoul said. “Or we can spend our time talking about the details of what the next attorney general will do.”
Harold, who was backed by Rauner, said that she wants to move past her Miss America crown.
“It’s such a humbling feeling to know that voters throughout the state found that my message resonated with them” Harold said after declaring victory Tuesday night. “I am going to work hard to make them proud. And I am going to work hard to introduce myself to the rest of the voters in the state.”
Raoul defeated former Gov. Pat Quinn by about three percentage points. Preliminary numbers show that with 94 percent of the votes counted, Raoul had 357,481 votes compared with Quinn’s 324,565 votes.
Harold beat her GOP challenger Gary Grasso by about 20 percentage points. Preliminary numbers show that with 94 percent of the votes counted, Harold had 354,881 votes to Grasso’s 241,444.
Roland Burris was Illinois’ last black attorney general. He won the office in 1990.
