1976 Illinois gubernatorial election

none related races 1976 United States gubernatorial elections January 2025 September 2023 1976 Illinois gubernatorial election Illinois presidential no 1972 Illinois gubernatorial election 1972 1978 Illinois gubernatorial election 1978 November 2, 1976 File:Governor James Thompson (3x4).jpg 150x150px Jim Thompson Republican Party (United States) Dave O'Neal 3,000,395 64.68% File:Michael J. Howlett (Illinois Blue Book Portrait 1971-1972) (cropped).png Michael Howlett Democratic Party (United States) Neil Hartigan 1,610,258 34.71% 1976 Illinois gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 160px County results Thompson: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% #c21b18 80–90%Howlett: #7996e2 50–60% Governor Dan Walker Democratic Party (United States) James R. Thompson Republican Party (United States) 74.18% 1.1 pp The 1976 Illinois gubernatorial election was held in Illinois on November 2, 1976.OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 2, 1976 JUDICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, MARCH, 16, 1976 https://www.elections.il.gov/DocDisplay.aspx?doc=Downloads/ElectionOperations/VoteTotals/Archived/1976/1976%20GE%20and%20PE.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20210714180655/https://www.elections.il.gov/DocDisplay.aspx?doc=Downloads/ElectionOperations/VoteTotals/Archived/1976/1976%20GE%20and%20PE.pdf dead July 14, 2021 Illinois State Board of Elections 26 June 2020 Incumbent first-term Democratic governor Dan Walker lost renomination to Illinois Secretary of State Michael Howlett, who was an ally of Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley. Howlett then lost the general election to Republican nominee James R. Thompson. This election was the first of seven consecutive Republican gubernatorial victories in Illinois, a streak not broken until the election of Democrat Rod Blagojevich in 2002. This election is the most recent time an Illinois gubernatorial election was held concurrently with a presidential election. Thompson's margin of victory was the largest in well over a century, after the elections of 1818 and 1848. Background This election was for a two-year term which would synchronize future gubernatorial elections with midterm election years, rather than presidential election years, as the 1970 Constitution of Illinois required gubernatorial elections to be held in midterm election years starting in 1978.w http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con5.htm Illinois Constitution – Article V Ilga.gov 2015-04-04 The previous election had been in 1972. The primaries (held on March 16) and general election coincided with those for federal offices (United States President and House) and those for other state offices. The election was part of the 1976 Illinois elections. Turnout in the primaries saw 38.79% in the gubernatorial primaries, with a total of 2,231,910 votes cast, and 33.89% in the lieutenant gubernatorial primary, with 1,949,469 votes cast. Turnout during the general election was 74.18%, with 4,639,010 votes cast. Democratic primary Governor The incumbent Governor, Dan Walker, had a contentious relationship with the Daley Machine, which backed Secretary of State Michael Howlett. Walker carried most of the state's counties, but Howlett carried Cook county by a wide margin and was ultimately nominated. thumb|center|160px|County map of the 1976 Illinois Democratic gubernatorial primary Howlett: #ffb380 50–60% #ff9955 60–70% Walker: #ac9393 50–60% #916f6f 60–70% #6c5353 70–80% #483737 80–90%. 1976 Democratic gubernatorial primary, Illinois Democratic Party (United States) Michael J. Howlett 811,721 53.82 Democratic Party (United States) Dan Walker (incumbent) 696,380 46.17 245 0.02 115,341 7.65 1,508,346 Lieutenant governor Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Neil Hartigan was renominated, defeating Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago commissioner Joanne H. Alter. Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary Democratic Party (United States) Neil F. Hartigan (incumbent) 857,910 66.29 Democratic Party (United States) Joanne H. Alter 436,322 33.71 29 0.00 1,294,232 100 Republican primary Governor Thompson won the Republican Primary in a landslide, carrying every county. 1976 Republican gubernatorial primary, Illinois Republican Party (United States) James R. Thompson 625,457 86.44 Republican Party (United States) Richard H. Cooper 97,937 13.54 170 0.02 527,484 29.97 723,564 Lieutenant governor Dave O'Neal won the Republican primary, defeating Joan G. Anderson. Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary Republican Party (United States) David C. O'Neal 376,126 57.40 Republican Party (United States) Joan G. Anderson 279,087 42.59 24 0.00 655,237 100 General election thumb|396x396px|Thompson joins President Gerald Ford, First Lady Betty Ford, and U.S. Senator Charles Percy on a whistle stop in Bloomington. 1976 gubernatorial election, Illinois Republican Party (United States) James R. Thompson/Dave O'Neal 3,000,365 64.68 Democratic Party (United States) Michael J. Howlett/Neil F. Hartigan 1,610,258 34.71 Communist Party USA Ishmael Flory/Linda R. Appelhans 10,091 0.22 Libertarian Party (United States) F. Joseph McCaffrey/Georgia E. Shields 7,552 0.16 Socialist Workers Party (United States) Suzanne Haig/Dennis Brasky 4,926 0.11 Socialist Labor Party George LaForest/Stanley A. Prorok 3,147 0.07 U.S. Labor Party Edward Waffle/Peter Matni 2,302 0.05 369 0.01 1,390,137 29.97 4,639,010 Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) References 1976 Gubernatorial Illinois Category:November 1976 in the United States