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Kwame Raoul (D) defeated Erika Harold (R) and Bubba Harsy (L) in the 2018 general election for attorney general of Illinois.
Incumbent Lisa Madigan (D), who was first elected in 2002, did not file for re-election, leaving the seat open. Madigan was last elected in 2014 by a margin of 22 percentage points. The Democratic candidate had won seven of the ten preceding attorney general elections, with Republican candidates winning the remaining three.
At the time of the 2018 election, the most recent Republican candidate to win an attorney general election in Illinois was Jim Ryan in 1998. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) carried the state by a margin of 17 percentage points.
Illinois Attorney General, 2018
| Poll | Poll sponsor | Kwame Raoul (D) | Erika Harold (R) | Undecided/Other | Margin of Error | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Research International (September 24-29, 2018) | The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute | 36% | 26% | 39% | +/-3.7 | 715 |
| Research America, Inc. (September 5-13, 2018) | Illinois Broadcasters Association | 43% | 32% | 25% | +/-3.1 | 1,024 |
Attorney General of Illinois, 2014
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Lisa Madigan Incumbent |
59.5% | 2,142,558 | |
| Republican | Paul Schimpf | 37.8% | 1,360,763 | |
| Libertarian | Ben Koyl | 2.8% | 99,903 | |
| Total Votes | 3,603,224 | |||
| Election results via Illinois State Board of Elections | ||||
2010 Race for Attorney General - General Election
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party |  Lisa Madigan
|
64.7% | |
| Republican Party | Stephen H. Kim | 31.6% | |
| Green Party | David Black | 2.2% | |
| Libertarian Party | William Malan | 1.5% | |
| Total Votes | 3,704,686 | ||
2006 Race for Attorney General - General Election
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | Lisa Madigan
|
72.4% | |
| Republican Party | Stewart Umholtz | 24.3% | |
| Green Party | David Black | 3.3% | |
| Total Votes | 3,479,812 | ||
2002 Race for Attorney General - General Election
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | Lisa Madigan
|
50.4% | |
| Republican Party | Joe Birkett | 47.1% | |
| Libertarian Party | Gary L. Shilts | 2.5% | |
| Total Votes | 3,498,901 | ||
Demographic data for Illinois
| Illinois | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Total population: | 12,839,047 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 55,519 | 3,531,905 |
| Gender | ||
| Female: | 50.9% | 50.8% |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 72.3% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 14.3% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 5% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 16.5% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 87.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 32.3% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $57,574 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 16.8% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Illinois. | ||
As of July 2016, Illinois' three largest cities were Chicago (pop. est. 2.7 million), Aurora (pop. est. 200,000), and Joliet (pop. est. 150,000).
