Lori Wilcox

Patrick Joyce, the pick of Democratic Party leaders, was trailing in the Democratic primary for the 40^th state Senate seat.

Challenger Lori Wilcox had 36.2 percent of the vote to Joyce’s 34.2 percent with one-third of precincts reporting in the district, which covers southern Cook County.

Joyce, son of the late state Sen. Jerome Joyce, has been a state senator since November when then-state Sen. Toi Hutchinson resigned to become the state’s first cannabis regulation oversight officer.