One of the most surprising local results from yesterday’s balloting was Anita Alvarez’s victory in a six-way Democratic primary for Cook County state’s attorney. A Chicago Public Radio analysis of the vote tallies suggests Alvarez’s narrow win may owe largely to overwhelming support from Latinos. We report from our West Side bureau.

State’s Attorney Dick Devine’s decision to retire created the first open contest for the job in decades. Alvarez is the office’s Number 3 prosecutor. She defeated a field that included veteran politicians and a higher-ranking prosecutor endorsed by Devine. She told Chicago Public Radio this morning she won because of her experience.

ALVAREZ: Being a woman, being a Hispanic, I think enhanced my candidacy but, I think, overall I ran as the most qualified person.

But a close look at the results suggests Alvarez’s victory may have a lot to do with her popularity among Latino voters. In Chicago’s nine most heavily Latino wards, she won more votes than her five competitors combined. The tallies were lopsided even in Latino wards where local Democratic bosses opposed her. Alvarez also won big in the heavily Latino suburbs of Cicero and Berwyn.

Michael Rodríguez directs field operations for the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute.

RODRIGUEZ: It leads us to believe that the Hispanic voter will support a Hispanic candidate regardless of what the machine politicians put in front of them on Election Day.

In November, Alvarez will face Tony Peraica, a Cook County commissioner who ran unopposed in the Republican primary. If she wins, she’ll be the first woman and the first Latino to be the county’s top prosecutor.