The 1984 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 6, 1984. Incumbent

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 ...

Senator

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 ...

ran for re-election to a fourth term in the

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 ...

. Senator Percy was opposed by Democratic nominee Paul Simon, who was a

United States Congressman 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Illinois's 22nd congressional district The 22nd congressional district of Illinois was a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicag ...

. The campaign between Percy and Simon was contentious and brutally-fought, and ended up with Simon ousting Percy by fewer than 90,000 votes, which was, at the time, considered an upset. Incidentally, Percy's son-in-law

Jay Rockefeller John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) is a retired American politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia (1985–2015). He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as governor of West Virg ...

was elected Senator from West Virginia in the same election cycle.

Election information

The election coincided with those for other federal offices (

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and House), as well as state elections. 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 ...

were held March 20.

Turnout

Turnout in the primaries was 36.67%, with a total of 2,219,583 votes cast. Turnout in the general election was 73.99%, with 4,787,335 votes cast.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Roland Burris Roland Wallace Burris (born August 3, 1937) is an American politician and attorney who is a former United States Senator from the state of Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party. In 1978, Burris was the first African American elected ...

, Illinois State Comptroller * Philip J. Rock, State Senator from Oak Park *Gerald M. Rose, member of the

LaRouche movement The LaRouche movement is a political and cultural network promoting the late Lyndon LaRouche and his ideas. It has included many organizations and companies around the world, which campaign, gather information and publish books and periodicals ...

Alex Seith Alex Robert Seith (July 27, 1934 – March 23, 2010) was the 1978 Democratic nominee for the United States Senate from Illinois. A complete newcomer to electoral politics, he nearly pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Senate history whe ...

, nominee for Senate in 1978 and candidate in 1980 * Paul Simon, U.S. Representative from Makanda

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

*Richard J. Castic * Tom Corcoran, U.S. Representative from Ottawa *V. A. Kelley *

, incumbent Senator since 1967 *John E. Roche, candidate for Governor in 1982

Results

General election

Candidates

* Paul Simon (D),

U.S. Representative 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

(R), incumbent Senator * Steve I. Givot (L) * Marjorie H. Pries (I) * Nelson Gonzalez (SW) * Ishmael Flory (C)

Results

The election was very close. Simon prevailed by only 89,126 votes, or 1.86%. Incumbent Percy did well throughout the state, including the Chicago

collar counties Collar counties is a colloquialism for DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, the five counties of Illinois that border Cook County, which is home to Chicago. The collar counties are part of the Chicago metropolitan area and comp ...

. However, in the heavily populated and Democratic

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 ...

, which encompasses the city of

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

and the majority of the

Chicago Metropolitan Area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and h ...

, Simon ran ahead of Percy by over 300,000 votes. Simon also won most counties in southwestern Illinois, a traditionally Democratic region. Percy led early on and well into the night, but as

began to count all of its votes, Simon pulled ahead. Simon won despite then-president Reagan winning the state easily. Percy called Simon at around 5 A.M. the next day and conceded. Percy also congratulated Simon on his hard-earned victory. Simon was sworn in on January 3, 1985, and served in the Senate until January 3, 1997, when he retired. Simon was later succeeded by

Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate De ...

, a close friend and fellow

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 ...

References

{{United States elections, 1984

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1984 Illinois elections

Election information

Turnout

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Results

See also

References