1972 Illinois elections

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 7, 1972.[1]

1972 Illinois elections

November 7, 1972
Turnout78.52%

Primaries were held on March 21, 1972.[1]

Election information

Turnout

Turnout in the primary election was 39.90%, with a total of 2,228,605 ballots cast. 1,563,193 Democratic and 665,412 Republican primary ballots were cast.[1]

Turnout during the general election was 78.52%, with 4,880,213 ballots cast.[1]

Federal elections

United States President

Illinois voted for the Republican ticket of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew.

United States Senate

Incumbent Charles H. Percy, a Republican, won reelection.

United States House

All 24 Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1972. Seats had seen redistricting due to the results of the 1970 United States Census. Illinois did not lose any congressional seats during reapportionment. As of 2020, this is the last time that Illinois has not lost any congressional districts during a post-census reapportionment.

Before the election, both the Democratic and Republican parties held 12 seats from Illinois. In 1972, Republicans won 14 seats, while Democrats won 10 seats.

State elections

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

1972 Illinois gubernatorial election

November 7, 1972
Turnout75.28%[1]
 
Nominee Dan Walker Richard B. Ogilvie
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate Neil Hartigan James D. Nowlan
Popular vote 2,371,303 2,293,809
Percentage 50.7% 49.0%

County Results
Walker:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Ogilvie:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

Richard B. Ogilvie
Republican

Elected Governor

Dan Walker
Democratic

Incumbent Republican Richard B. Ogilvie lost to Democrat Dan Walker.

Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon did not seek reelection to a second term, instead opting to (ultimately unsuccessfully) seek the Democratic nomination for governor. Democrat Neil Hartigan was elected to succeed him.

This was the first gubernatorial elections in which gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates were elected on a ticket in the general election, per the 1970 Constitution of Illinois.

1972 gubernatorial election, Illinois[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel Walker/Neil F. Hartigan 2,371,303 50.68
Republican Richard B. Ogilvie (incumbent)/James D. Nowland 2,293,809 49.02
Socialist Labor George LaForest/Stanley L. Prorok 7,966 0.17
Communist Ishmael Flory/Theodore Pearson 4,592 0.10
Write-in Others 1,373 0.03
Total votes 4,679,043

Attorney General

1972 Illinois Attorney General election

November 7, 1972
Turnout72.87%[1]
 
Nominee William J. Scott Thomas G. Lyons
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 2,898,198 1,613,103
Percentage 63.99% 35.62%

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 second term.

Democratic primary

Illinois State Senator Thomas G. Lyons won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.

Attorney General Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Thomas G. Lyons 954,194 100
Write-in Others 33 0.00
Total votes 954,227 100

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) 546,308 100
Write-in Others 7 0.00
Total votes 546,315 100

General election

Attorney General election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William J. Scott (incumbent) 2,898,198 63.99
Democratic Thomas G. Lyons 1,613,103 35.62
Socialist Labor George P. Milonas 10,509 0.23
Communist Nancy J. Cohen 6,624 0.15
Write-in Others 402 0.01
Total votes 4,528,836 100

Secretary of State

1972 Illinois Secretary of State election

November 7, 1972
Turnout73.47%[1]
 
Nominee Michael Howlett Edmund J. Kucharski
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 2,360,327 2,187,554
Percentage 51.69% 47.90%

Secretary of State before election

John W. Lewis Jr.
Republican

Elected Secretary of State

Michael Howlett
Democratic

Incumbent Secretary of State John W. Lewis Jr., a Republican, had been appointed in 1970. He did not seek reelection. Democrat Michael Howlett was elected to succeed him in office.

Democratic primary

Illinois Auditor of Public Accounts Michael J. Howlett won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.

Secretary of State Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alan J. Dixon 1,039,947 100
Write-in Others 20 0.00
Total votes 1,039,967 100

Republican primary

Edmund J. Kucharski won the Republican primary, running unopposed.

Secretary of State Republican primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Edmund J. Kucharski 503,473 100
Write-in Others 16 0.00
Total votes 503,489 100

General election

Secretary of State election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael Howlett 2,360,327 51.69
Republican Edmund J. Kucharski 2,187,554 47.90
Socialist Labor Elizabeth Schnur 12,419 0.27
Communist Frances Gabow 6,079 0.13
Write-in Others 281 0.01
Total votes 4,566,660 100

Comptroller

1972 Illinois State Comptroller election

November 7, 1972
Turnout69.74%[1]
 
Nominee George W. Lindberg Dean Barringer
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 2,217,440 2,094,798
Percentage 51.15% 48.33%

Auditor of Public Accounts before election

Michael Howlett
Democratic

State Comptroller

George W. Lindberg
Republican

Comptroller was a newly-formed office, created by the 1970 Constitution of Illinois to replace the office of Auditor of Public Accounts, of which the outgoing incumbent was Democrat Michael Howlett, who instead opted to run for Secretary of State. Republican George W. Lindberg was elected the inaugural Illinois Comptroller.

Democratic primary

Dean Barringer won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.

Comptroller Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dean Barringer 913,221 71.82
Write-in Others 11 0.00
Total votes 913,232 100

Republican primary

George W. Lindberg won the Republican primary, running unopposed.

Comptroller Republican primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican George W. Lindberg 480,769 100
Write-in Others 3 0.00
Total votes 480,772 100

General election

Comptroller election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican George W. Lindberg 2,217,440 51.16
Democratic Dean Barringer 2,094,798 48.33
Socialist Labor Clarys L. Essex 12,797 0.30
Communist Nathan Sharpe 9,325 0.22
Write-in Others 287 0.01
Total votes 4,334,647 100

State Senate

Seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1972. Republicans flipped control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1972. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1970. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

Trustees of University of Illinois

1972 Trustees of University of Illinois election
November 7, 1972

An election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois system.

The election saw the reelection of three-term former member Republican Park Livingston and first-term Republican incumbent Ralph Crane Hahn, as well as the election of new Republican member Jane S. Hayes Rader.[1][2]

Democratic incumbent Robert B. Pogue (elected in a special election two years earlier) lost reelection.[1][2]

Trustees of the University of Illinois election[1][2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ralph C. Hahn (incumbent) 2,204,218 17.47
Republican Jane S. Hayes Rader 2,199,006 17.42
Republican Park Livingston 2,168,248 17.18
Democratic Ellen Augustyn 2,014,589 15.96
Democratic Nicholas J. Bosen 1,974,000 15.64
Democratic Roger B. Pogue (incumbent) 1,938,476 15.36
Socialist Labor Edwin L. Williams 28,855 0.23
Socialist Labor Henry Schilling 23,168 0.18
Socialist Labor Gregory P. Lyngas 19,838 0.16
Communist John Robert Lumpkin 17,865 0.14
Communist Jack Kling 15,880 0.13
Communist William R. Fugate 15,699 0.12
Write-in Others 553 0.00
Total votes 12,620,395 100

Judicial elections

Multiple judicial positions were up for election in 1972.[1]

Local elections

Local elections were held.

References

  1. "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 7, 1972 JUDICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, MARCH, 21, 1972" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  2. "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
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