The 1992 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 3, 1992. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator

Alan J. Dixon Alan John Dixon (July 7, 1927 – July 6, 2014) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served in the Illinois General Assembly from 1951 to 1971, as the Illinois Treasurer from 1971 to 1977, as the Illinois Secretary ...

decided to run for re-election a third term, but was defeated in the primary against

Carol Moseley Braun Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun, also sometimes Moseley-Braun (born August 16, 1947), is a former U.S. Senator, an American diplomat, politician, and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. Prior to her Senate ...

, who ended up winning the general election. Until 2022, this was the last time a single party won Illinois's Class 3 Senate seat in two or more consecutive elections. Braun, whose victory coincided with

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

's win in the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

and

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 ...

, made history in this election by becoming the first African American woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate, and also the first African American elected to the Senate as a

Democrat 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 ...

. Braun was also both the first African American and the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from the state of Illinois. Primaries were held March 17.

Election information

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal elections (

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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 ...

), as well as those for state offices.

Turnout

For the primaries, turnout was 35.20%, with 2,064,347 votes cast. For the general election, turnout was 74.84%, with 4,939,557 votes cast.

Democratic Primary

Candidates

, Cook County Recorder of Deeds and former State Representative *

, incumbent U.S. Senator * Albert Hofeld, attorney

Results

Analysis

This defeat shocked observers; at the time no Senator had been defeated in a primary in over a decade and Dixon had a long record of electoral success. He was a moderate Democrat, who recently voted to confirm

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 199 ...

to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. Braun, a black woman and known reformist liberal, got a large share of black, liberal, and women voters ("The Year of the Woman"). In addition, she carried

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

, by far the most populated county in the state. Another factor was the third candidate in the race, multi-millionaire attorney Al Hofeld. Hofeld drew away some of the moderate and conservative Democrats who normally supported Dixon. He also spent a lot of money running advertisements attacking Dixon, weakening his support.

Republican primary

Richard S. Williamson Richard Salisbury Williamson (May 9, 1949 – December 8, 2013) was an American lawyer, diplomat and political advisor. He previously served as Special Envoy to Sudan under George W. Bush. Williamson was a partner at Winston & Strawn and was also ' ...

ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

General election

Candidates

Major

(D), Cook County Recorder of Deeds, former State Rep. *

(R), former

Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs The Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs is the head of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs within the United States Department of State that creates and executes policy in international organizations ...

Minor

* Kathleen Kaku (SW) * Chad Koppie (I) * Alan J. Port (NA) * Andrew B. Spiegel (L) * Charles A. Winter (NL)

Results

Moseley Braun won the 1992 Illinois Senate Race by a fairly comfortable margin. Moseley Braun did well as expected in

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

home of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Williamson did well in the Chicago collar counties, and most northern parts of the state. Moseley Braun had a surprisingly strong showing in southern Illinois, which Republicans had come to dominate in the last several decades. Braun also did well in

Rock Island County Rock Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois, bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 147,546. Its county seat is Rock Island; its largest city is neighboring ...

References

{{United States elections, 1992

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

Election information

Turnout

Democratic Primary

Candidates

Results

Analysis

Republican primary

General election

Candidates

Major

Minor

Results

See also

References