The 7th Congressional District includes parts of downtown, portions of the city's South and West sides, and parts of the west suburbs.
No fewer than 13 Democrats vied for the nomination for a seat that has been held for 30 years by retiring Congressman Danny Davis.
And Illinois state Rep. Ford, 54, had Davis' endorsement, but at his West Side polling place on Tuesday morning, he ran into some voting problems.
Ford says he checked in just fine, but when he entered the card he was given into the electronic voting machine, it said he had voted already. It took almost an hour, he said, to sort out what appeared to be a computer mix up, and the Board of Elections confirmed that its legal team got involved.
Ford, who has been a state representative for nearly 20 years, eventually voted with a paper ballot after declining a provisional ballot.
"I was fortunate to be able to move things around and stay there and protect my vote, because imagine anyone else that had to get to the office or go to work or have some other duties that they had to tend to, they couldn't stay an hour," Ford said.
Ford ran on a platform of affordability, vowing to work to lower healthcare costs and protect Medicare and Social Security for seniors, as well as Medicaid for the vulnerable.
"I pledge to all of you and the congressman that your legacy will be protected. Your legacy will be built on," Ford said while speaking to supporters on Tuesday night. "Take care of the people from bottom... This campaign all about the people at the bottom."
The crowded field of candidates also included Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who was endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union. This was her second time running for the nomination.
Community organizer Kina Collins made her fourth run for the nomination.
Real estate developer Jason Friedman raised $2.5 million, which is the most money in the race and more than triple than his closest competitor.
Anthony Driver, Richard Boykin, and Dr. Thomas Fisher were also among the candidates.
There was a flood of PAC money that made its way into this race, and things got pretty negative in terms of the advertising.
Some of those ads highlighted Ford's past legal issues involving felony bank fraud charges that were later dropped. Though, he did plead guilty in 2014 to a single misdemeanor tax count.
Ford was defiant on stage, saying, "they've been trying to put me in jail for years."
Afterward, he told ABC7 that the voters rejected that PAC money and instead voted for ideas.
On the Republican side of the race, Chad Koppie and Patricia Easley squared off. The Associated Press projects Koppie will win the Republican primary.
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