Elections were held in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
on Tuesday, November 3, 1942.
Primaries
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...
were held April 14, 1942.
Election information
1942 was a
midterm election
Apart from general elections and by-elections, midterm election
refers to a type of election where the people can elect their representatives and other subnational officeholders (e.g. governor, members of local council) in the middle of the term ...
year in the United States.
Turnout
In the primary election 1,963,298 ballots were cast (1,026,644 Democratic and 936,654 Republican).
In the general election 3,049,312 ballots were cast.
Federal elections
United States Senate
Incumbent Republican
Charles W. 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 ...
was reelected.
United States House
Illinois had
redistricted
Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each decennial census.
The U.S. Constitution in Ar ...
before this election, and had lost one seat due to reapportionment following the
1950 United States Census
The United States census of 1950, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 150,697,361, an increase of 14.5 percent over the 131,669,275 persons enumerated during the 1940 census.
This was ...
. All of Illinois' remaining 26 seats in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
were up for election in 1942.
Before the election Republicans held 16 seats and Democrats held 11 seats from Illinois. In 1942, Republicans won 19 seats and Democrats won 7 seats.
State elections
Treasurer
Incumbent first-term
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury o ...
, Republican
Warren Wright, did not seek reelection, instead opting to run for United States Senate. Republican
William G. Stratton was elected to succeed him.
Democratic primary
W. D. Forsyth defeated former Illinois Treasurer and
Auditor of Public Accounts Edward J. Barrett and two other candidates.
Republican primary
Incumbent congressman
William G. Stratton won the Republican nomination.
General election
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent second-term
Superintendent of Public Instruction John A. Wieland, a Democrat, lost reelection, being unseated by Republican
Vernon L. Nickell was elected to succeed him in office.
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
State Senate
Seats in 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 1942. Republicans 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 1942. Republicans retained control of the chamber.
Trustees of University of Illinois
An election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
. All three Republican nominees won. With their net increase of two seats in this election, Republicans captured a majority of seats on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.
Incumbent Republican
Chester R. Davis (elected in a special election two years prior) was reelected.
[ New Republican members Martin G. Luken and Frank H. McKelvey were also elected.][
Incumbent Democrats Homer M. Adams and James M. Cleary were not renominated.][
Kenney E. Williamson, one of the Democratic Party nominees, had briefly served before, having been appointed in 1940.][
]
Judicial elections
Supreme Court
On June 1, 1942, several districts of the Supreme Court of Illinois
The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...
had elections.
=1st district
=
Republican Charles H. Thompson unseated Democratic incumbent Paul Farthing
Paul Farthing (April 12, 1887 – December 2, 1976) was an American jurist.
Born in Odin, Illinois, Farthing was blinded in a hunting accident when he was twelve years old. Farthing went to the Illinois School for the Blind. He then received h ...
.
=2nd district
=
Republican incumbent June C. Smith with reelected.
=3rd district
=
Republican incumbent Walter T. Gunn
Walter T. Gunn (June 4, 1879 – October 13, 1956) was an American jurist.
Born in LaSalle County, Illinois, Gunn moved with his parents to Vermillion County, Illinois in 1880. He went to high school in Hoopeston, Illinois and to Greer College ...
was reelected, running unopposed.
=6th district
=
Incumbent Democrat Elwyn Riley Shaw was unseated by Republican William J. Fulton.
=7th district
=
Incumbent Democrat Francis S. Wilson was reelected, running unopposed.
Lower courts
Election were held on November 3, 1942 to fill two vacancies on the 16th Judicial Circuit and one vacancy on the 17th Judicial Circuit.
An election was held November 3, 1942 to fill two vacancies on the Superior Court of Cook County
The Superior Court of Cook County was a court in Cook County, Illinois.
It was preceded by earlier courts. 1845 saw the creation of the County Court of Cook County. In 1849, this was renamed The Cook County Court of Common Pleas. In 1859, this was ...
.
Ballot measure
One measure was put before voters in 1942.
Illinois Revenue Amendment
The Illinois Revenue Amendment, a proposed amendment to Section 1 of Article IX of the Constitution, failed to meet the threshold for approval.[Illinois Constitution of 1870 ARTICLE XIV Section 2]
Local elections
Local elections were held.
Notes
: This figure (3.13%) represents the increase from the share of both the result of the 1940 regular election and the combined vote of the 1940 regular and special elections (Republicans won 50.44% of both these election totals in 1940).
: This figure (3.24) represents the decrease from the share of the combined vote of the 1940 regular and special elections. The change from the result of the 1940 regular election alone would be 3.13%.
References
{{Illinois elections
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
1942 state legislature elections in the United States