THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...The biggest election roundup...ever?
March 21, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
Illinois plays in the NCAA tournament today, if you’re wondering where my focus is.
If you’d like to go back and watch our Livestream from Tuesday, click here. I’d suggest skipping through the results and going to the panels and interviews. They were way more interesting than me. Our conversation with Governor Edgar is here.
My visit with WLS yesterday is here.
I haven’t included any stories on the Cook County State’s Attorney race below because they’re all using old numbers. After a few precincts were dumped in last night, Eileen O’Neill Burke’s lead is down to around 8,800.
The House and Senate are in at noon. There’s nothing on Governor Pritzker’s public schedule today.
Let’s get to it.
Go Illini.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets, because good journalism isn’t free)
Bost defeats Bailey in Illinois’ 12th District GOP primary (St. Louis Public Radio)
U.S. Rep. Mike Bost defeated former state Sen. Darren Bailey in the GOP primary for Illinois’ 12th Congressional District on Tuesday.
We've been doing this for quite a few years and most times, it's in a general election,” Bost said during his victory party at Brews Brothers Taproom in Murphysboro. “And when you do it in a primary, unfortunately, it's friends on friends.”
While Bailey won big in the eastern part of the 12th Congressional District, Bost won by huge margins in the Metro East — including landslides in Monroe and St. Clair counties. He also pummeled Bailey in Jackson County, which includes Carbondale.
The Murphysboro Republican’s victory in the southern Illinois district showcased former President Donald Trump’s power when it comes to endorsing candidates in heavily GOP districts. Bost credited Trump's endorsement as "vitally important" to his win.
The race marked Bost’s most difficult intraparty battle since he won the 12th District seat in 2014. Because the district is heavily Republican, Bost’s primary victory is tantamount to a win in the general election in November.
Bailey told supporters at his watch party in Louisville his campaign "made a statement."
"Hopefully the party will take notice that we're not going to take this nonsense anymore and this sellout attitude," Bailey said.
The race was contentious. Bailey, who won the nomination for Illinois governor in 2022, was trying to ride momentum from that unsuccessful run to unseat Bost. Bailey contended that Bost was insufficiently conservative on immigration issues.
Bost said Bailey didn’t accomplish much during his tenure as a state senator. He also said he wanted to actually accomplish things in Washington — which often means being pragmatic instead of voting "no" on everything.
Related: Congressman Mike Bost survives competitive GOP primary challenge to win nomination for sixth term (Associated Press)
What the Mike Bost, Darren Bailey election results tell us about the Republican Party (Belleville News-Democrat)
Incumbent Mike Bost defeats Darren Bailey in Illinois 12th Congressional District primary (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Trump nod helps Republican Bost beat Bailey downstate (Chicago Sun-Times)
US Rep. Danny Davis, three other Democratic incumbents hold off challengers (Chicago Tribune)
After a heated campaign in which four challengers argued U.S. Rep. Danny Davis has been in Washington long enough, the veteran West Side politician emerged victorious in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, setting him up for a likely general election win in November and a 15th term representing Illinois’ 7th Congressional District.
“This election is over and the victory belongs to the people,” Davis declared at his election night party at the Westside Baptist Ministers Conference.
Two years after surviving the most competitive primary of his congressional career, Davis easily defeated a field of rivals that included Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin and third-time opponent Kina Collins.
With about three-fourths of the vote counted, Davis led with 53% over Conyears-Ervin’s 22% and Collins’ 18%, according to unofficial results.
Collins, a progressive activist, lost to Davis by 6 points in 2022, which helped inspire Conyears-Ervin, a one-time Davis ally, and newcomers Nikhil Bhatia and Kouri Marshall to enter this year’s race. Bhatia and Marshall had collected only a small share of the vote, according to unofficial results.
Related: U.S. Rep. Danny Davis cruises to reelection: ‘Don’t ever write off the senior citizens’ (Chicago Sun-Times)
U.S. Rep. Jesús ‘Chuy’ García defeats Ald. Raymond Lopez in 4th Congressional District (Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Rep ‘Chuy’ García retains 4th District seat after election day drama (Chicago Sun-Times)
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten defeats two challengers in 6th Congressional District primary (Chicago Tribune)
Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster defeats progressive challenger in 11th Congressional District (Chicago Tribune)
Incumbents win big in Illinois primary with Chicago-area Democrats emerging from competitive races (Associated Press)
Evans takes GOP primary for 11th U.S. House seat (Daily Herald)
After victory in GOP primary for 14th U.S. House seat, Marter looks ahead to Underwood (Daily Herald)
Former judge McGraw set to face Sorensen in 17th Congressional District (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Joe McGraw wins primary election in Illinois 17th US House District (Rockford Register Star)
TOP STORIES SO FAR THIS WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
Garcia, Casten, Davis, Foster All Win Chicago-area Congressional Primaries
Bost, Fighting for His Political Life: "You Can't Burn The Place Down"
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Joy Cunningham wins Illinois Supreme Court primary (Chicago Tribune)
Graciela Guzmán beats incumbent Sen. Natalie Toro in another test of Democratic establishment muscle (Chicago Sun-Times)
Arellano winner of GOP nomination for 37th Senate District (Shaw Media)
Joyce claims lopsided win in 40th (Kankakee Daily Journal)
Grundy County Board Chairman Chris Balkema wins 53rd Senate District primary (Shaw Media)
Bryant wins 58th Senate primary (Belleville News-Democrat)
Party-backed Crawford defeats longtime Democratic Rep. Flowers (Chicago Sun-Times)
Gill, Jones claim victory as incumbents prevail in suburban legislative primaries (Daily Southtown)
Morgan defeats Walters in 79th (Kankakee Daily Journal)
Rep. Dennis Tipsword holds big lead in 105th District primary (Shaw Media)
2 Central Illinois Republicans ready for Springfield, 1 prepares for November election (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Is tepid turnout a ‘warning sign’ for President Biden in November? (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: Thanks for voting, the next campaign season has begun (Shaw Media)
Illinois high court asked to review law limiting venue in constitutional challenges (Capitol News Illinois)
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