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| Turnout | 74.18% 1.1pp | |||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Thompson: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Howlett: 50–60% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1976 Illinois gubernatorial election was held inIllinois on November 2, 1976.[1]Incumbent first-termDemocraticgovernorDan Walker lost renomination toIllinois Secretary of StateMichael Howlett, who was an ally ofChicago mayorRichard J. Daley. Howlett then lost the general election to Republican nomineeJames R. Thompson. This election was the first of seven consecutive Republican gubernatorial victories in Illinois, a streak not broken until the election of DemocratRod Blagojevich in2002.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 of1818 and1848.
This election was for a two-year term which would synchronize future gubernatorial elections withmidterm election years, rather than presidential election years, as the 1970Constitution of Illinois required gubernatorial elections to be held in midterm election years starting in 1978.[2] The previous election had been in1972.
Theprimaries (held on March 16) and general election coincided with those for federal offices (United States President andHouse) and those for other state offices.[1] The election was part of the1976 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.[1] Turnout during the general election was 74.18%, with 4,639,010 votes cast.[1]
The incumbent Governor,Dan Walker, had a contentious relationship with theDaleyMachine, which backed Secretary of StateMichael Howlett. Walker carried most of the state's counties, but Howlett carried Cook county by a wide margin and was ultimately nominated.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michael J. Howlett | 811,721 | 53.82 | |
| Democratic | Dan Walker (incumbent) | 696,380 | 46.17 | |
| Write-in | 245 | 0.02 | ||
| Majority | 115,341 | 7.65 | ||
| Turnout | 1,508,346 | |||
Incumbent Lieutenant GovernorNeil Hartigan was renominated, defeatingMetropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago commissionerJoanne H. Alter.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Neil F. Hartigan (incumbent) | 857,910 | 66.29 | |
| Democratic | Joanne H. Alter | 436,322 | 33.71 | |
| Write-in | 29 | 0.00 | ||
| Total votes | 1,294,232 | 100 | ||
Thompson won the Republican Primary in a landslide, carrying every county.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | James R. Thompson | 625,457 | 86.44 | |
| Republican | Richard H. Cooper | 97,937 | 13.54 | |
| Write-in | 170 | 0.02 | ||
| Majority | 527,484 | 29.97 | ||
| Turnout | 723,564 | |||
Dave O'Neal won the Republican primary, defeating Joan G. Anderson.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | David C. O'Neal | 376,126 | 57.40 | |
| Republican | Joan G. Anderson | 279,087 | 42.59 | |
| Write-in | 24 | 0.00 | ||
| Total votes | 655,237 | 100 | ||
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | James R. Thompson/Dave O'Neal | 3,000,365 | 64.68 | |
| Democratic | Michael J. Howlett/Neil F. Hartigan | 1,610,258 | 34.71 | |
| Communist | Ishmael Flory/Linda R. Appelhans | 10,091 | 0.22 | |
| Libertarian | F. Joseph McCaffrey/Georgia E. Shields | 7,552 | 0.16 | |
| Socialist Workers | Suzanne Haig/Dennis Brasky | 4,926 | 0.11 | |
| Socialist Labor | George LaForest/Stanley A. Prorok | 3,147 | 0.07 | |
| U.S. Labor | Edward Waffle/Peter Matni | 2,302 | 0.05 | |
| Write-in | 369 | 0.01 | ||
| Majority | 1,390,137 | 29.97 | ||
| Turnout | 4,639,010 | |||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||
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