Sangamon Sun

State Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield) was victorious over challenger Don Debolt in the June 28 Republican primary for state Senate District 54. 

“I'm humbled by the support, and honored to be the Republican nominee for the 54th District," McClure said in a Facebook post. "Thanks to everyone who supported our campaign!”

"Myself and (campaign manager) Bailey Tate, the two of us just put our shoes on and knocked on doors in all 10 counties for the past month and a half. It’s the grassroots in-person interaction with people that I think made our campaign really successful,” McClure told the Springfield Journal-Gazette. 

McClure was first elected in 2018 and currently represents the old District 50. McClure received 59.8% of the vote with 17,925 votes to Debolt’s 40.2% of the vote with 12,050 votes. No Democrats have filed for the general election.

McClure noted recently that Illinois’ high rate of crime is causing business to leave the state. "It's the overall bad business climate. We need to work on reforming workman's comp reform and lower property taxes. On top of that, crime is out of control across the state and many of these businesses don’t feel safe being here right now," McClure said after billionaire Ken Griffin announced he was relocating Citadel Securities to Miami, Fla.

The new 54th District covers all or part of Macon, Shelby, Christian, Moultrie, Effingham, Cumberland, Menard, Macoupin, Sangamon and Montgomery counties