An Illinois reader notes that for all of the disappointment some conservatives have about Mark Kirk’s relatively easy win in the Senate primary, conservatives did well down ticket.

In the lieutenant governor primary, Jason Plummer leads by about one percent: a Naval Reserve officer who used to work at the Heritage Foundation.

In Illinois’s 8th congressional district, “Tea Party insurgent” Joe Walsh, who worked for the free-market Heartland Institute, wins a crowded primary.

In the 10th district, Bob Dold, an aide to former vice president Dan Quayle, won.

In the 11th, one of my favorites, Adam Kinzinger, won his primary by a wide margin.

In the 14th district, another political dynasty had a rough year. State senator Randy Hultgren beat Ethan Hastert, son of the former House speaker.