DeVore Tops Kim For AG, Faces Kwame Raoul: IL Primary Election Results

ILLINOIS — Thomas DeVore, the attorney who fought early on against Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's COVID-19 restrictions, will face incumbent Attorney General Kwame Raoul in November's general election after his closest opponent conceded Tuesday's primary election.

With 98 percent of the vote counted, DeVore was leading Deerfield attorney Steve Kim, who conceded the election in a social media post late Tuesday night.

"I wish both candidates luck in the general election and hope whoever is our next Attorney General will take strong action to fight crime, tackle our systemic government corruption and address the issues that Illinoisans deeply care about," Kim wrote on Twitter on Tuesday night.

Raoul is seeking his second term as Attorney General after he took the office with 55 percent of the vote over Republican Erika Harold after incumbent Lisa Madigan elected not to seek a fifth term in office.

The Attorney General is the state’s chief legal officer and is responsible for protecting the public interest of the state and its people.

The job of the Attorney General is to advocate on behalf of all the people of Illinois, work
with members of the General Assembly for new laws, represent the state government in litigation, and litigate to ensure state and federal laws are followed and respected.

The Attorney General provides services that cover a broad range of issues, reaching every corner of Illinois.

According to unofficial results via the Sun-Times and more than 92 percent of precincts reporting, several outlets projected DeVore as the winner.

Thomas DeVore 306,620 (44.3 percent)

Steve Kim 238,909 (34.5 percent)

David Shestokas 146,225 (21.1 percent)

DeVore served a two-year term on the Bond County Board 10 years ago, but is no stranger to the political stage after he fought legal battles in suits filed against Pritzker and COVID-19 restrictions in Illinois.

He said recently that Raoul has spent his time in office representing the governor's wishes rather than representing the people of Illinois as the state's top attorney

“Raoul has for the last two years done whatever the governor has asked him to do,” DeVore said in an interview with the Sun-Times. “I’ll tell whoever is governor that there will be no more mandates.”

DeVore has pitched himself as the people's attorney and was projected the winner on Tuesday despite running his campaign on just more than $59,000, the Sun-Times reported. Kim was backed financially by billionaire Ken Griffin, who also was a major contributor to Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin's bid to capture the GOP nomination for governor.

Irvin was soundly defeated by Darren Bailey, the downstate Illinois candidate who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and who used that backing to run away with Tuesday's primary.

DeVore has the words "Freedom" and "Liberty" tattooed on his arms and moves on to November one step closer to gaining the statewide office, again keeping Pritzker in clear focus.

“The people have been paralyzed by fear and allowed J.B. Pritzker to rule as a king,” DeVore said in a television ad. “I’m running for Attorney General to educate, empower and equip the people to take back their government and restore the power where it belongs.”