Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – One of the primary election stories in Illinois is the ouster of the Number Two House Republican. State Rep. Norine Hammond (R-Macomb) lost the primary election to Josh Higgins by a margin of 57-33. A third candidate captured the remaining ten percent.

The Illinois Freedom Caucus, a group of right-wing lawmakers who oppose House Minority Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna), endorsed Higgins. There is currently no Democrat running in that Western Illinois district.

Hammond, whose political career began as a district aide to then-State Rep. Rich Myers, succeeded Myers after his passing in 2010. While she attributes some of her defeat to the Republican trends pointing farther to the right, there is another reason. “With the remap and the new district and a lot of new territory for me,” Hammond said, “a lot of people I worked with and for for decades were no longer in the district.”

In a news release, she congratulated Higgins without mentioning him by name and cautioned him: “I hope that he remembers that our constituents deserve more than a fighter, they deserve results.”