Illinois Primary Results 2022: Valencia concedes to Giannoulias in Secretary of State race
Illinois primary election 2022: 2 Republicans, 4 Democrats running for IL Secretary of State
CHICAGO (WLS) -- It was a closely-watched race in Tuesday's primary elections as Illinois looks to get a new Secretary of State.
LIVE ELECTION RESULTS: Click here for Illinois primary election results
Jesse White is retiring after 24 years as Illinois' first African American Secretary of State.
On the Republican side, there were two candidates as voters decided between Dan Brady and John Milhiser.
Four candidates on the Democratic ticket hoped to replace Secretary of State Jesse White: Sidney Moore, Anna Valencia, Alexi Giannoulias and David Moore.
Despite high-profile endorsements from White himself, as well as Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and Governor JB Pritzker, Valencia conceded to Alexi Giannoulias Tuesday night.
Now, Giannoulias will be the Democratic candidate on Illinois' November ballot.
WATCH: Alexi Giannoulias Gives Primary Victory Speech
"Our journey together has reached an important milestone but we still have long way to go. I want to thank you for getting me here but I need to fight harder than ever to get into November," he said in his victory speech. "What I am running to do is to make Illinois a great example for the rest of this country."
Illinois' outgoing secretary of state got a lot of attention Tuesday as White tried putting the focus on his pick, Anna Valencia, to take over.
RELATED: Illinois Primary Election: Meet the candidates for governor, U.S. Senate, Congress and more
"I'm glad to support her. I know that she's going to do a wonderful job," White said earlier in the day.
Valencia, who is currently Chicago's city clerk, was running for the statewide office for the first time. She said she was motived to go into politics after the election of Donald Trump.
"This is surreal for me. I'm a girl from granite city, first in my family to go to college, working-class background family. My parents are all here and I never thought that my wildest dream would be running for secretary of state but here I am," she said.
WATCH: Secretary of state candidate Anna Valencia
Prior to taking office for city clerk in 2017, Valencia worked on campaigns, including Sen. Dick Durbin and Congressman Mike Quigley.
Giannoulias is the CEO and founder of a company that invests in start-ups. With a degree in economics and law degree, he became the the state's youngest treasurer at age 30. What followed was a career in the private, as well as public sectors, including an unsuccessful run for U.S. senator in 2010.
He credits the mentorship of former President Barack Obama for his interest in politics. He gained the Democratic nomination for Senate but lost to Mark Kirk in the general election.
WATCH: Secretary of state candidate Alexi Giannoulias
"We have an incredibly, incredibly important election. There is so much going on, everyone needs to come out and vote," Giannoulias said. "I'm excited about the secretary of state's office race. We are going to modernize it, fight for voting rights, so everyone please come out and vote."
David Moore was another of the four democrats running in the primary for secretary of state.
SEE MORE: Illinois Secretary of State Democratic candidates square off in forum
Now in his second term as Alderman of Chicago's 17th Ward, he grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes and is now an Englewood resident who began his career in accounting before jumping into politics.
"I want to make sure we are modernizing that office, bringing things like digital license plates to cut down on this carjacking, give seniors discounts; and I was the first one in this race to create 122 youth engagement officers," Moore said ahead of the results.
The fourth candidate was Sydney Moore. We reached out to him but did not hear back from him in time for this report.
WATCH: Secretary of state candidate Sidney Moore
