As expected, Mark Kirk handily won the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate from Illinois, defeating his closest challenger Patrick Hughes by a landslide.
With 98% of precincts reporting, Kirk led with 56% of the vote to Hughes's 19%.
"Tonight we begin a journey to right our ship of state, to reclaim our place as the honest Land of Lincoln," Kirk told supporters at the Westin Chicago North Shore hotel.
A popular fifth-term congressman representing Chicago's affluent North Shore suburbs, Kirk has maintained sizable leads in the polls throughout.
He will face Alexi Giannoulias in November, in a race to fill the Senate seat that was held by Barack Obama.
Watch Kirk speak to supporters after clinching the nomination: