Prairie State Wire

Saying that his campaign for Illinois Attorney General was the audition, state Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) told supporters after his election Tuesday night that "I’m just getting started."

The son of Haitian immigrants, Raoul said in his victory speech that he wants to live out his father's legacy and work for better health care for the people of Illinois.

Raoul won the Illinois Attorney General race with more than a 10-point spread, collecting 54 percent of the vote to Republican challenger Erika Harold's 43 percent. Libertarian Bubba Harsy had 2.5 percent of the vote.

Raoul thanked his challenger for a well-run race. "I commend Erika Harold for her run. She’s smart and I admire her. We have a difference of opinion on issues, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t deserve credit for lending herself to the scrutiny of a statewide campaign."

Raoul also thanked campaign staff and others for their work and support. "I didn’t have the same resources as some others have had," Raoul said. "We had a skeleton crew working on this."

He noted that there were eight strong candidates going into the primary.

"I came out of a primary… that was an embarrassment of riches," Raoul said. "There were eight strong candidates. They made me stronger. I could easily be out there rooting for one of them."

Raoul turned his attention to his own personal journey. "I sought to be an attorney general for my son and people like my son," Raoul said. "So they won’t be judged by the color of their skin."

Raoul said he was born to Haitian immigrant parents. His mother, who is over 90, traveled to Illinois to be with her son on election night. "My mother doesn't travel, but somehow they got her here tonight," Raoul said.

Raoul has been a member of the Illinois state Senate since 2004 and succeeded Barack Obama when he served in the Illinois Legislature.