The 1972 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 7, 1972.

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

first-term

Republican 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 ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Richard B. Ogilvie Richard Buell Ogilvie (February 22, 1923 – May 10, 1988) was the 35th governor of Illinois and served from 1969 to 1973. A wounded combat veteran of World War II, he became known as the mafia-fighting sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, in t ...

lost reelection to the Democratic nominee, Dan Walker. This was the first election in which each party's nominee for lieutenant governor of Illinois ran on a

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...

with the gubernatorial nominee for the general election. Previously, there had been two separate elections for the two offices. This would be the last election of the 20th century in which a Democrat won the governorship of Illinois, with all seven remaining elections of that century being won by Republican nominees.

Election information

This was the first gubernatorial elections in which gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates were elected on a

in the general election, per the 1970 Constitution of Illinois. The election coincided with those for federal offices (

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Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, and

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

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

1972 Illinois elections Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 7, 1972. Primaries were held on March 21, 1972. 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 6 ...

. Walker was the last Democrat to be elected governor of Illinois until

Rod Blagojevich Rod Blagojevich ( , born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nicknames "Blago" or "B-Rod", is an American former politician, political commentator, and convicted felon who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009, when ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. The primaries were held on March 21, 1972.

Turnout

Turnout in the primaries saw 36.09% in the gubernatorial primaries, with a total of 2,015,694 votes cast, and 30.46% in the lieutenant gubernatorial primary, with 1,701,418 votes cast. Turnout during the general election was 75.28%, with 4,679,043 votes cast.

Democratic primaries

Governor

In an upset, Dan Walker won a close primary against then-Lt. Governor

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

. Paul Simon had been the candidate slated by the state party.

Lieutenant Governor

Neil Hartigan Neil F. Hartigan (born May 4, 1938) is an American lawyer and politician from Illinois. He served as the Attorney General of Illinois, the List of lieutenant governors of Illinois, 40th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, Lieutenant Governor, and ...

, the candidate slated by the state party, defeated Carbondale mayor Neal Eckert, Walker's declared preferred running-mate.

Republican primary

Governor

Ogilvie won renomination easily. His main rival, John M. Mathis was a favorite son of the Peoria area, and fared poorly elsewhere.

Lieutenant Governor

James D. Nowlan won the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor, running unopposed.

General election

References

{{Illinois elections

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

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 ...