Prairie State Wire

It will not be the first time Erika Harold will hear “the winner is.”

The former 2003 Miss America has been projected by the Associated Press (AP) to become the Republican nominee for Illinois Attorney General, beating her GOP contender Gary Grasso in the Primary Election by almost  20 percent two and a half hours after the polls closed. 

With 7,174 of 10,119 precincts reporting, Harold has 253,571 votes, 59.3 percent of the total; and Grasso has 178,858 votes, only 40.5 percent of the total.

Gary Grasso

Not too long ago, Grasso gave himself the nod for the GOP vote, according to a March 4 Prairie State Wire story, where he is reported Harold was bought and owned by Gov. Bruce Rauner, who allegedly financed her campaign while Grasso funding his own.

“Beyond that, Grasso said his nearly 40 years of experience as a litigator and record of public service make him a natural for the GOP nomination, opposed to what he said was Harold’s relative inexperience,” according to the news report.

If the AP proves true, Harold may be facing off with Sen. Kwame Rauol, who is the lead for the Democratic nod as Illinois Attorney General, to replace present Attorney General Lisa Madigan, according to Chicago Tonight.

“With 60 percent of the vote counted, Raoul has a 4-point lead over former Gov. Pat Quinn. Raoul had been the early front-runner with the most money raised and the early backing of the Cook County Democratic Party,” Chicago Tonight reported.

Earlier in the evening, Chicago Tonight featured a seven-minute interview with Grasso, who stated again he is far more experienced then Harold.

“Knowing how to litigate cases, that is what the attorney general does,” Grasso said. “My opponent has a thin, thin resume.”

It seems voters feel differently, however, as Harold leads the race with the projected win in her favor.