1976 Illinois elections ← 1974 November 2, 1976 1978 →
Turnout 77.38%
Elections in Illinois General elections Gubernatorial elections Lieutenant Gubernatorial elections Attorney General elections Secretary of State elections Comptroller elections Senate elections House of Representatives elections Judicial elections
Ballot measures and referendums
President Gerald Ford is joined by Republican gubernatorial nominee James R. Thompson at a whistle stop in Springfield Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 2, 1976.[1]
Primaries were held on March 16, 1976.[1]
In order to, per Constitution of Illinois , allow for all statewide executive offices to be up for election in the 1978 midterms , all statewide executive offices up for election in 1976 were only elected to two-year terms.
Election information In order to, per Constitution of Illinois , allow for all statewide executive offices to be up for election in the 1978 midterms , all statewide executive offices up for election in 1976 were only elected to two-year terms.
This is would be the last time that any election for a nstatewide executive office would be held in Illinois during a presidential election year, until 2016, when a special election was held for comptroller .
Turnout Turnout in the primary election was 21.55%, with a total of 1,239,487 ballots cast. 669,210 Democratic and 570,277 Republican primary ballots were cast.[1]
Turnout during the general election was 77.38%, with 4,838,182 ballots cast.[1]
Federal elections United States President Illinois voted for the Republican ticket of Gerald Ford and Bob Dole .[1]
United States House All 24 Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1976.
Republicans flipped one seat, making the composition of Illinois' House delegation consist of 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans.
State elections Governor and Lieutenant Governor 1976 Illinois gubernatorial election Turnout 74.18%[1] County Results
Thompson: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90%
Howlett: 50–60% Governor before election Dan Walker Democratic
Elected Governor James R. Thompson Republican
Incumbent Governor Dan Walker, a Democrat, had been defeated by Michael J. Howlett in the Democratic primary, while incumbent Lieutenant Governor Neil Hartigan was renominated in the Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary. The Republican ticket of James R. Thompson and David C. O'Neal won the election.
1976 gubernatorial election, Illinois[1] 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 Other 369 0.01 Total votes 4,639,010 100
Attorney General 1976 Illinois Attorney General election Turnout 72.15%[1] Nominee William J. Scott Cecil Partee Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,795,013 1,678,800 Percentage 61.95% 37.21%
Attorney General before election William J. Scott Republican
Elected Attorney General William J. Scott Republican
Incumbent Attorney General William J. Scott, a Republican, was elected to a third term.
Democratic primary President of the Illinois Senate Cecil Partee narrowly defeated Superintendent of the Illinois Department of Registration and Education[2] Ronald E. Stackler in the Democratic primary.
Attorney General Democratic primary[1] Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Cecil A. Partee 270,741 50.56 Democratic Ronald E. Stackler 264,701 49.44 Total votes 535,442 100
Republican primary Incumbent William J. Scott won the Republican primary, running unopposed.
Attorney General Republican primary[1] Party Candidate Votes % Republican William J. Scott (incumbent) 485,940 100 Total votes 485,940 100
General election Attorney General election[1] Party Candidate Votes % Republican William J. Scott (incumbent) 2,795,013 61.95 Democratic Cecil Partee 1,678,800 37.21 Communist Theodore Pearson 11,150 0.25 Socialist Workers Nancy J. Cohen 9,333 0.21 Libertarian John C. Reis 9,165 0.20 Socialist Labor George P. Milonas 4,344 0.10 U.S. Labor Richard D. Leebove 3,918 0.16 Write-in Others 45 0.00 Total votes 4,511,768 100
Secretary of State 1976 Illinois Secretary of State election Turnout 72.00%[1] Nominee Alan J. Dixon William C. Harris Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,906,311 1,562,028 Percentage 64.55% 34.69%
Incumbent Secretary of State Michael Howlett , a Democrat, did not seek a second term, instead opting to run for governor. Democrat Alan J. Dixon was elected to succeed him in office.
Democratic primary Illinois Treasurer Alan J. Dixon won the Democratic primary, defeating Illinois State Senator Vince Demuzio .
Secretary of State Democratic primary[1] Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Alan J. Dixon 984,934 77.35 Democratic Vince Demuzio 288,354 22.65 Total votes 1,273,288 100
Republican primary Illinois State Senator William C. Harris won the Republican primary, running unopposed.
Secretary of State Republican primary[1] Party Candidate Votes % Republican William C. Harris 615,932 100 Total votes 615,932 100
General election Secretary of State election[1] Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Alan J. Dixon 2,906,311 64.55 Republican William C. Harris 1,562,028 34.69 Libertarian Ellyn Powelson 10,461 0.23 Communist Frances Gabow 8,271 0.18 Socialist Workers Eva Lynn Masterson 6,356 0.14 U.S. Labor John H. Brown, Jr. 5,212 0.12 Socialist Labor Ben Leonik 3,876 0.09 Write-in Others 30 0.00 Total votes 4,502,545 100
Comptroller 1976 Illinois State Comptroller election Turnout 71.25%[1]
Incumbent Comptroller George W. Lindberg , a Republican running for a second term, was defeated by Democrat Michael Bakalis .
Democratic primary Former Illinois Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Bakalis won the Democratic primary, defeating Director of the Illinois State Department of General Services[3] Roland Burris .
Republican primary Incumbent George W. Lindberg won the Republican primary, running unopposed.
Secretary of State Republican primary[1] Party Candidate Votes % Republican George W. Lindberg (incumbent) 619,698 100 Total votes 619,698 100
General election Comptroller election[1] Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Michael Bakalis 2,298,074 51.58 Republican George W. Lindberg (incumbent) 2,117,977 47.53 Libertarian Mark B. Wallace 13,789 0.31 Communist Charles Hunter 10,992 0.25 U.S. Labor Michael Braun 5,635 0.13 Socialist Workers Clemens R. Bak 5,071 0.11 Socialist Labor Gregory P. Lyngas 4,064 0.09 Write-in Others 22 0.00 Total votes 4,455,624 100
State Senate Seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1976. Democrats retained control of the chamber.
State House of Representatives Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1976. Democrats retained control of the chamber.
Trustees of University of Illinois 1976 Trustees of University of Illinois election
An election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois system .
The election saw the reelection of first-term Democrats William D. Forsyth Jr., George W. Howard III, and Earl L. Neal.[1] [4]
Trustees of the University of Illinois election[1] [4] Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Earl L. Neal (incumbent) 2,221,506 18.17 Democratic William D. Forsyth Jr. (incumbent) 2,056,442 16.82 Democratic George W. Howard, III (incumbent) 1,971,033 16.12 Republican Timothy W. Swain 1,968,391 16.10 Republican Robert E. Allen 1,893,695 15.49 Republican Dean Ennis Madden 1,789,409 14.64 Libertarian Anne McCracken 44,472 0.36 U.S. Labor Carol Leebove 30,233 0.25 Libertarian James D. McCawley 27,542 0.23 Communist Mark J. Almberg 25,641 0.21 Libertarian Milton Altschuler 25,532 0.21 U.S. Labor Helen Ratzlow 25,351 0.21 Socialist Labor Doris Churchill 24,595 0.20 U.S. Labor Shari Waffle 22,498 0.18 Communist Altherna Medith 18,948 0.16 Communist Jack Kling 17,414 0.14 Socialist Labor Edwin L. Williams 14,970 0.12 Socialist Workers Mark Harris 13,314 0.11 Socialist Workers David W. Tucker 11,982 0.10 Socialist Workers John Pottinger 10,752 0.09 Socialist Labor Clarys L. Essex 10,671 0.09 Write-in Others 113 0.00 Total votes 12,224,504 100
Judicial elections Multiple judicial positions were up for election in 1976.[1]
Local elections Local elections were held.
References ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 2, 1976 JUDICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, MARCH, 16, 1976" (PDF) . Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2020 . ^ "Names". Illinois Issues . July 1976. Retrieved June 26, 2020 . ^ "BURRIS , Roland | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov . United States House of Representatives. Retrieved June 27, 2020 . ^ a b "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF) . University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
President U.S. Senate U.S. House Governors State legislature Mayors