1936 Illinois elections ← 1934 November 3, 1936 1938 →
Elections in Illinois General elections Gubernatorial elections Lieutenant Gubernatorial elections Attorney General elections Secretary of State elections Comptroller elections Treasurer elections Senate elections House of Representatives elections Judicial elections
Ballot measures and referendums
County Executive elections
County Executive elections
Elections were held inIllinois [ 1]
Primaries were held April 14, 1936.[ 1]
The elections overall saw a strong performance by theDemocratic Party .
Democrats retained their control of both chambers of theIllinois General Assembly and all statewide executive offices, winning all the statewide executive offices by broad margins. Democrats swept the election forUniversity of Illinois trustees. Democrats also carried the state in the presidential election. DemocraticUnited States senator J. Hamilton Lewis was reelected. Democrats retained all 21 U.S. congressional seats they held in the state, whileRepublicans retained all six seats they held.
Election information [ edit ] In the primaries, 2,674,613 ballots were cast (1,597,418Democratic and 1,077,195Republican ).[ 1]
In the general election, 3,995,088 ballots were cast.[ 1]
United States president [ edit ] Illinois voted for the Democraticticket ofFranklin D. Roosevelt andJohn Nance Garner .
United States Senate [ edit ] DemocratJ. Hamilton Lewis won reelection to a second consecutive, and third overall, term in the United States Senate.
United States House [ edit ] All 27 Illinois seats in theUnited States House of Representatives were up for election in 1936.
No seats switched parties. The partisan makeup of the state's United States House of Representatives delegation remained 21 Democrats and six Republicans.
1936 Illinois gubernatorial election County resultsHorner: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%Brooks: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
Incumbent first-termgovernor Henry Horner , aDemocrat , won reelection.
The Chicagopolitical machine unsuccessfully ranChicago Board of Health presidentHerman Bundesen against the incumbentHenry Horner in retribution for Horner havingvetoed a bill that would have allowedbookies to legally operate, a bill favored by Chicagopolitical bosses such asEdward J. Kelly .[ 2]
Republican gubernatorial primary[ 1] Party Candidate Votes % Republican C. Wayland Brooks 596,446 59.05 Republican Len Small 268,903 26.62 Republican Oscar E. Carlstrom 53,266 5.27 Republican Thomas P. Gunning 31,194 3.09 Republican J. Paul Kuhn 29,423 2.91 Republican H. Wallace Caldwell 16,079 1.59 Republican John G. Oglesby 7,568 0.75 Republican George W. Dowell 7,125 0.71 Write-in 1 0.00 Total votes 1,010,005 100
Challenging both Democratic nominee Henry Horner and Republican nominee Charles W. Brooks, Republican formerChicago mayor William Hale Thompson ran on the Union Progressive Party of Illinois' ballot line. There were also several other minor candidates.
Gubernatorial election[ 1] Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Henry Horner (incumbent)2,067,861 53.13 Republican C. Wayland Brooks 1,682,685 43.24 Union Progressive William Hale Thompson 128,962 1.00 Socialist John Fisher 6,966 0.18 Prohibition Harmon W. Reed 2,896 0.07 Socialist Labor O. Alfred Olson 2,602 0.07 Write-in 4 Total votes 3,891,976 100
Lieutenant governor [ edit ] 1936 Illinois lieutenant gubernatorial election
Incumbent first-termlieutenant governor Thomas Donovan , a Democrat, did not seek reelection. DemocratJohn Henry Stelle was elected to succeed him.
John V. Clinnin Harry F. Hamlin George Hatzenbuhler James A. McCallum Theodore D. Smith A. Lincoln Wisler Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary[ 1] Party Candidate Votes % Republican George Hatzenbuhler 234,884 28.49 Republican James A. McCallum 190,009 23.04 Republican John V. Clinnin 179,002 21.71 Republican Theodore D. Smith 97,118 11.78 Republican Harry F. Hamlin 90,837 11.02 Republican A. Lincoln Wisler 32,695 3.97 Total votes 824,545 100
Lieutenant gubernatorial election[ 1] Party Candidate Votes % Democratic John Stelle 2,103,226 56.17 Republican George Hatzenbuhler 1,539,342 41.11 Union Progressive Fred R. Wolf 88,595 2.37 Socialist Joseph Goldman 7,487 0.20 Prohibition Clay F. Gaumer 3,153 0.08 Socialist Labor Jacob Johns 2,324 0.06 Total votes 3,744,127 100
1936 Illinois Attorney General election ← 1932 November 3, 1936 1940 →
Incumbent first-termAttorney General Otto Kerner Sr. , a Democrat, was reelected.
No candidates ran in the Republican primary. The party ultimately nominated Charles W. Hadley, who had been the distant runner-up in the Democratic primary.[ 1]
Attorney General election[ 1] Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Otto Kerner (incumbent)2,116,673 56.47 Republican Charles W. Hadley 1,531,842 40.87 Union Progressive Thomas V. Sullivan 86,351 2.30 Socialist Meyer J. Myer 7,708 0.21 Prohibition Frank S. Regan 3,254 0.09 Socialist Labor Titus Anderson 2,495 0.07 Total votes 3,748,323 100
1936 Illinois Secretary of State election ← 1932 November 3, 1936 1940 →
County resultsHughes: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%Stratton: 50–60% 60–70%
Incumbent first-term DemocraticSecretary of State Edward J. Hughes , a Democrat, was reelected.
Hughes faced Republican former secretary of stateWilliam J. Stratton in a rematch of the 1932 race.
Secretary of State election[ 1] Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Edward J. Hughes (incumbent)2,120,071 55.95 Republican William J. Stratton 1,576,939 41.62 Union Progressive Stanley J. Piotrowicz 79,310 2.09 Socialist Harry A. Crawford 7,553 0.20 Prohibition Harriet L. McBride 3,123 0.08 Socialist Labor Sam French 2,179 0.06 Total votes 3,789,175 100
Auditor of Public Accounts [ edit ] 1936 Illinois Auditor of Public Accounts election ← 1932 November 3, 1936 1940 →
Incumbent first-termAuditor of Public Accounts Edward J. Barrett , aDemocrat , was reelected.
State senator Arthur J. Bidwill won the Republican nomination, defeating, among others, fellow state senatorEarle Benjamin Searcy .
Auditor of Public Accounts election[ 1] Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Edward J. Barrett (incumbent)2,107,911 56.06 Republican Arthur J. Bidwill 1,561,920 41.54 Union Progressive Harry A. Steinmeyer 77,436 2.06 Socialist Anton Udovic 7,607 0.20 Prohibition Carl T . E. Schultze 3,115 0.08 Socialist Labor Gus A. Jenning 2,416 0.06 Write-in 1 0.00 Total votes 3,760,406 100
1936 Illinois State Treasurer election ← 1934 November 3, 1936 1938 →
Incumbent first-termTreasurer John Henry Stelle , aDemocrat , did not seek reelection, instead running for lieutenant governor. DemocratJohn C. Martin was elected to succeed him in office, granting Martin a second nonconsecutive term as Illinois Treasurer.
Former Illinois Treasurer,John C. Martin , won the Democratic primary.
FormerIllinois state senator Clarence F. Buck won the Republican nomination defeating businessmanAnton J. Johnson , former U.S. congressman and former Illinois TreasurerEdward E. Miller , among others.
Treasurer election[ 1] Party Candidate Votes % Democratic John C. Martin 2,090,130 55.86 Republican Clarence F. Buck 1,561,124 41.72 Union Progressive H. W. Trovillion 77,031 2.06 Socialist Benjamin Williger 7,767 0.21 Prohibition Enoch A. Holtwick 3,245 0.09 Socialist Labor Frank H. McKinzie 2,433 0.07 Total votes 3,741,730 100
Seats of theIllinois Senate were up for election in 1940. Democrats retained control of the chamber.
State House of Representatives [ edit ] Seats in theIllinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1940. Democrats retained control of the chamber.Cumulative voting and 59 three-seat districts were used in this election. Members of both of the two main parties were elected in each district.
Trustees of University of Illinois [ edit ] 1936 Trustees of University of Illinois election ← 1934 November 3, 1936 1938 →
An election was held for three of the nine seats for Trustees ofUniversity of Illinois to six year terms.[ 1] [ 8] Democrats swept all three seats.[ 1] [ 8]
All three incumbents whose terms were expiring (second-termRepublican George A. Barr, first-term Republican Edward E. Barrett, and first-term Democrat Walter W. Winslow) were not nominated for reelection.[ 1] [ 8]
New Democratic members Homer Mat Adams, James Mansfield Cleary, and Louis C. Moschel were elected.[ 1] [ 8]
Trustees of the University of Illinois election[ 1] [ 8] Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Homer Mat Adams 2,048,328 18.44 Democratic James Mansfield Cleary 2,047,680 18.43 Democratic Louis C. Moschel 2,042,819 18.39 Republican Frank H. McKelvey 1,566,214 14.10 Republican Frank M. White 1,565,030 14.09 Republican Charles S. Pillsbury 1,557,458 14.02 Union Progressive Minnie Clarke Webster 79,468 0.72 Union Progressive John L. Wellington 78,788 0.71 Union Progressive Elsie B. Johnston 77,824 0.70 Socialist Edward L. Adams, Jr. 8,813 0.08 Socialist Roy E. Burt 8,648 0.08 Socialist Georgia Albright 8,349 0.08 Prohibition Mildred E. Young 3,666 0.03 Prohibition Lawrence Britton 3,549 0.03 Prohibition John Ashe 3,383 0.03 Socialist Labor Nels C. Gustafson 2,731 0.03 Socialist Labor Mary Starcevic 2,725 0.03 Socialist Labor John L. Lindsey 2,631 0.02 Total votes 11,108,104 100
One seat on the Illinois Supreme Court had an election on June 1, 1936.
5th district election [ edit ] RepublicanClyde E. Stone was reelected.
Several special elections were held November 3, 1936 for theIllinois Circuit Courts .
Robert J. Dunne was defeated John F. Tyrrell (1,157,312 votes to 709,625 votes) in a nonpartisan race to fill the vacancy left on theCircuit Court of Cook County by the resignation of fellow DemocratFrancis S. Wilson .[ 1]
Democratic nominee Grendel F. Bennett defeated Republican nominee V. W. McIntire (50,216 votes to 42,026 votes) to fill the 5th district vacancy left by the resignation of Craig Van Meter.[ 1]
Democratic nominee Horace H. Baker defeated Republican nominee Lester H. Martin (43,987 votes to 43,877 votes) to fill the 11th district vacancy left by death of Peter Murphy.[ 1]
Democratic nominee Francis J. Coyle defeated Republican nomineeAlbert M. Crampton (51,609 votes to 50,163 votes) to fill the 14th district vacancy left by death of J. Paul Califf.[ 1]
Despite dying before the election, Republican nominee William J. Emerson defeated Democratic nominee James B. Sheean (38,712 votes to 30,184 votes) to fill the 15th district vacancy left by death of Frank T. Sheean.[ 1]
Local elections were held.
^a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION, NOV. 3, 1936 PRIMARY ELECTIONS GENERAL PRIMARY, APRIL 14, 1936 PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE, APRIL 14, 1936" (PDF) . Illinois State Board of Elections. RetrievedAugust 2, 2020 .[permanent dead link ^a b Grossman, Ron (October 20, 2017)."The Chicago public health czar who craved celebrity" .chicagotribune.com . Chicago Tribune. RetrievedDecember 20, 2020 . ^ "James Fred Robertson" .The Pantagraph . Bloomington, Illinois. March 24, 1936. p. 11. RetrievedJune 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.^ Illinois Blue Book 1941-1942 . RetrievedMay 27, 2025 .^ "George W. Dowell of Duquoin, 25th congressional district" .The Pearl City News . Pearl City, Illinois. July 16, 1914. p. 7. RetrievedJune 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.^ "Dowell Out For Governor" .Perry County Advocate . Pinckneyville, Illinois. January 24, 1936. p. 1. RetrievedJune 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.^ "Batavian is Now in Field Seeking Governor's Post" .True Republican . Vol. 78, no. 2.Sycamore, Illinois . January 8, 1936. p. 3. RetrievedMay 27, 2025 – viaIllinois Digital Newspaper Collections .^a b c d e "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF) . University of Illinois. RetrievedApril 1, 2020 .
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