The 1964 Illinois gubernatorial election was 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 November 3, 1964. The Democratic nominee, incumbent Governor

Otto Kerner, Jr. Otto Kerner Jr. (August 15, 1908 – May 9, 1976) was an American jurist and politician who served as the 33rd governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968 and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circui ...

, won reelection against the Republican nominee,

Charles H. Percy Charles Harting Percy (September 27, 1919 – September 17, 2011) was an American businessman and politician. He was president of the Bell & Howell Corporation from 1949 to 1964, and served as a Republican U.S. senator from Illinois from 1967 ...

Election information

The

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 ...

and general election both coincided with those for federal offices (

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United State ...

and

congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

) and those for other state offices. The election was part of the

1964 Illinois elections Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 3, 1964. Primaries were held on April 14, 1964. Election information Turnout In the primary, turnout was 41.74% with 2,154,941 ballots cast (1,062,320 Democrat and 1,092,621 Republican). ...

Turnout

In the primary election, turnout was 37.89% with 1,956,238 votes cast. In the general election, turnout was 84.15% with 4,657,500 votes cast.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary was held on April 14, 1964. Incumbent governor

Otto Kerner Jr. Otto Kerner Jr. (August 15, 1908 – May 9, 1976) was an American jurist and politician who served as the 33rd governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968 and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ...

won without opposition.

Republican primary

The Republican primary was also held on April 14. Business executive Charles Percy won the nomination against

Illinois state treasurer The Treasurer of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. The office was created by the Constitution of Illinois. Current Occupant The current Treasurer of Illinois is Democrat Mike Frerichs. He was first elected to hea ...

William Scott, and a field of minor candidates.

Illinois secretary of state The Secretary of State of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the government of Illinois, and one of the 47 secretaries of states in the United States. The Illinois Secretary of State keeps the state records, laws, libr ...

Charles F. Carpentier was originally running, but dropped-out in January after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. Also originally running was

Cook County Republican Party The Cook County Republican Party is a political party which represents voters in 50 wards in the city of Chicago and 30 suburban townships of Cook County. Cook County is the second-most populous county in the United States. Organization and lead ...

chairman Hayes Robertson, who had unsuccessfully challenged

William Stratton William Grant Stratton (February 26, 1914 – March 2, 2001), was the 32nd governor of Illinois from 1953 to 1961. Early life and career Born February 26, 1914 in Ingleside, Lake County, Illinois, the son of William J. Stratton, an Illinoi ...

in the 1960 Republican gubernatorial primary. Robertson also withdrew in January, throwing his support behind Scott.

General election

References

{{Illinois elections

Illinois gubernatorial elections

gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...