Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 3, 1936.Primaries were held April 14, 1936.
The elections overall saw a strong performance by the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
Democrats retained their control of both chambers of the
Illinois General Assembly
The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...
and all statewide executive offices, winning all the statewide executive offices by broad margins. Democrats swept the election for University of Illinois trustees. Democrats also carried the state in the presidential election. Democratic United States senator
J. Hamilton Lewis
James Hamilton Lewis (May 18, 1863 – April 9, 1939) was an American attorney and politician. Sometimes referred to as J. Ham Lewis or Ham Lewis, he represented Washington in the United States House of Representatives, and Illinois in the Unite ...
was reelected. Democrats retained all 21 U.S. congressional seats they held in the state, while
Republicans
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
retained all 6 seats they held.
Election information
Turnout
In the primaries, 2,674,613 ballots were cast (1,597,418
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
and 1,077,195 Republican).
In the general election, 3,995,088 ballots were cast.
John Nance Garner
John Nance Garner III (November 22, 1868 – November 7, 1967), known among his contemporaries as "Cactus Jack", was an American History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and lawyer from History of Texas, Texas who ...
.
United States Senate
Democrat
J. Hamilton Lewis
James Hamilton Lewis (May 18, 1863 – April 9, 1939) was an American attorney and politician. Sometimes referred to as J. Ham Lewis or Ham Lewis, he represented Washington in the United States House of Representatives, and Illinois in the Unite ...
won reelection to a second consecutive, and third overall, term in the United States Senate.
United States House
All 27 Illinois seats in the United 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 6 Republicans.
political machine
In the politics of Representative democracy, representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a hig ...
=
* Herman Bundesen, Chicago Board of Health president and Chicago health commissioner, former Cook County coroner
* Henry Horner, incumbent governor
*James Fred Robertson, 1934 U.S. congress candidate and
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
Chicago mayoral candidate
=Results
=
Republican primary
=Candidates
=
*
C. Wayland Brooks
Charles Wayland Brooks (March 8, 1897 – January 14, 1957) was a Republican U.S. Senator from Illinois from 1940 to 1949.
Early life
Born in West Bureau, Illinois, Brooks served in the Marines during World War I as a first lieutenant fro ...
*
Oscar E. Carlstrom
Oscar E. Carlstrom (July 16, 1878 – March 6, 1948) was an American lawyer.
Biography
Carlstrom was born on a farm near Aledo, Illinois and graduated from New Boston High School.McCann, B. H. (editor). Delegates' Manual of the Fifth Consti ...
Progressive
Progressive may refer to:
Politics
* Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform
** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context
* Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...
1914
This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
*
Thomas P. Gunning
Thomas Porter Gunning (June 26, 1882 – November 9, 1943) was an American dentist and politician.
Gunning was born near Neponset, Illinois; he received his degree in dentistry from the Chicago College of Dental Surgery in 1905. Gunning then ...
John G. Oglesby
John Gillett Oglesby (March 19, 1873 – May 27, 1938) was the 29th and 31st Lieutenant Governor of Illinois from 1909 to 1913, during this time he served under Governor Charles S. Deneen, and again from 1917 to 1921 serving under Governor Fr ...
Len Small
Lennington "Len" Small (June 16, 1862 – May 17, 1936) was an American politician who served as the 26th Governor of Illinois from 1921 to 1929. He previously was a member of the Illinois state senate from the 16th District from 1901 to 1903 a ...
, former governor of Illinois
General election
Challenging both Democratic nominee Henry Horner and Republican nominee Charles W. Brooks, Republican former Chicago mayorWilliam Hale Thompson ran on the Union Progressive Party of Illinois' ballot line. There were also several other minor candidates.
Lieutenant governor
Incumbent first-term
lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
John Edward Cassidy
John Edward Cassidy, Sr. (January 31, 1896 – March 25, 1984) was an American lawyer.
Born in Ottawa, Illinois, Cassidy received his law degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1917 and was admitted to the Illinois bar the same year. Ca ...
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*John V. Clinnin
*Harry F. Hamlin
*George Hatzenbuhler
*James A. McCallum
*Theodore D. Smith
*A. Lincoln Wisler
=Results
=
General election
Attorney general
Incumbent first-term
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
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.
General election
Secretary of State
Incumbent first-term Democratic Secretary of StateEdward J. Hughes, a Democrat, was reelected.
Hughes faced Republican former secretary of state
William J. Stratton
William Joseph Stratton (January 28, 1886 – May 8, 1938) was an American politician. His son William Grant Stratton was born in Ingleside, Lake County, Ill., on February 26, 1914.
Early life
Born in Ingleside, Illinois, Lake County, Ill. ...
Edward J. Barrett
Edward Joseph Barrett (born August 14, 1943) is a former flag officer in the United States Coast Guard, serving as chief of systems of the Coast Guard from 1996 to 1999.Democrat, was reelected.
Democratic primary
Republican primary
State senator
A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
Description
A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...
Arthur J. Bidwill won the Republican nomination, defeating, among others, fellow state senator
Earle Benjamin Searcy
Earle Benjamin Searcy was an American politician who served as clerk of the Supreme Court of Illinois, Illinois state senator, and Illinois state representative.
Early life
Searcy was born on May 4, 1887, in Palmyra, Illinois. He worked as a rep ...
.
=Results
=
General election
Treasurer
Incumbent first-term TreasurerJohn Henry Stelle, a Democrat, did not seek reelection, instead running for lieutenant governor. Democrat John C. Martin was elected to succeed him in office, granting Martin a second nonconsecutive term as Illinois Treasurer.
Democratic primary
Former Illinois Treasurer, John C. Martin, won the Democratic primary.
Clarence F. Buck
Clarence Frank Buck (June 6, 1870 – September 2, 1944) was an American politician, newspaper editor, businessman, and farmer.
Biography
Buck was born in Monmouth, Illinois. He graduated from Monmouth College. He was a farmer and raised ...
won the Republican nomination defeating businessman Anton J. Johnson, former U.S. congressman and former Illinois Treasurer Edward E. Miller, among others.
General election
State Senate
Seats of the
Illinois Senate
The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...
were up for election in 1940. Democrats retained control of the chamber.
State House of Representatives
Seats in the
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...
were up for election in 1940. Democrats retained control of the chamber.
Cumulative voting and 59 three-seat districts were used in this election. Member(s) of both of the two main parties were elected in each district.
Trustees of University of Illinois
An election was held for three of the nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois to six year terms.Democrats swept all three seats.
All three incumbents whose terms were expiring (second-term Republican George A. Barr, first-term Republican Edward E. Barrett, and first-term Democrat Walter W. Winslow) were not nominated for reelection.
New Democratic members Homer Mat Adams, James Mansfield Cleary, and Louis C. Moschel were elected.
Judicial elections
Supreme Court
One seat on the Illinois Supreme Court had an election on June 1, 1936.
=5th district election
=
Republican
Clyde E. Stone
Clyde E. Stone (March 23, 1876 – January 14, 1948) was an American jurist.
Biography
Born near Mason City, Illinois, Stone graduated from Mason City High School and received his bachelor's degree from University of Illinois. He taught sc ...
was reelected.
Circuit Courts
Several special elections were held November 3, 1936 for the
Illinois Circuit Courts
The Illinois circuit courts are state courts of the U.S. state of Illinois. They are trial courts of original jurisdiction. There are 24 judicial circuits in the state, each comprising one or more of Illinois' 102 counties. The jurisdiction ...
.
Robert J. Dunne
Robert Jerome "Duke" Dunne (August 29, 1899 – May 18, 1980) was an American football player and coach, and state court judge in Illinois. He played for the University of Michigan from 1918 to 1921, and competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Af ...
was defeated John F. Tyrrell (1,157,312 votes to 709,625 votes) in a nonpartisan race to fill the vacancy left on the Circuit Court of Cook County by the resignation of fellow Democrat
Francis S. Wilson
Francis Servis Wilson (February 7, 1872 – March 14, 1951) was an American jurist.
Born in Youngstown, Ohio, Wilson attended Youngstown Public Schools for his early childhood education, prior to attending Western Reserve Academy prep school in ...
.
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.
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.
Democratic nominee Francis J. Coyle defeated Republican nominee Albert M. Crampton (51,609 votes to 50,163 votes) to fill the 14th district vacancy left by death of J. Paul Califf.
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.