Washington, D.C.— The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) released the following statement from Executive Director Sean Rankin congratulating Kwame Raoul on winning the Illinois Attorney General’s seat. Raoul will continue the Democratic leadership of the Illinois OAG currently led by Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Through its aggressive recruitment for qualified candidates and the launch of the 1881 Initiative, DAGA assembled the most diverse class of attorney general candidates in history including Raoul, a Haitian-American, who will be the first African American AG in Illinois since Roland W. Buris in the mid-90s.

Statement from Sean Rankin, Executive Director of the Democratic Attorneys General Association:

“We applaud Kwame Raoul and his campaign on winning the Illinois Attorney General race. It was important for Illinois to elect a leader who will continue the strong work of Attorney General Lisa Madigan. This race ended up being about who voters can trust, and that person is Kwame Raoul. Raoul is a fighter—and he will work with Democratic AGs across the country to protect access to affordable healthcare, prevent gun violence, and protect voting rights. We look forward to welcoming Kwame Raoul into our room.” 

As part of the Democratic Attorneys General Association’s (DAGA) first-of-its-kind volunteer-to-voter education texting program, nearly 950,000 Illinois voters were reached this cycle to inform them about the importance of AG Elections and to answer questions about Kwame Raoul’s campaign. As the only voter outreach program texting specifically on Attorney General races, DAGA’s texting program educates voters about races in key states and gives voters an opportunity to share concerns they want Attorney General candidates to address. This cycle, DAGA connected with a milestone 11 million voters including voters in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

In addition to the texting efforts, DAGA IL People’s Lawyer Project, an independent organization backed by the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA), released a television ad in the final week focused on GOP candidate Erika Harold’s far-right positions on reproductive rights.