1972 Illinois elections

Turnout

Turnout in the primary election was 39.90%, with a total of 2,228,605 ballots cast. 1,563,193 Democratic and 665,412 Republican primary ballots were cast.^[1]

Turnout during the general election was 78.52%, with 4,880,213 ballots cast.^[1]

United States President

Illinois voted for the Republican ticket of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew.

United States Senate

Incumbent Charles H. Percy, a Republican, won reelection.

United States House

All 24 Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1972. Seats had seen redistricting due to the results of the 1970 United States census. Illinois did not lose any congressional seats during reapportionment. As of 2020^[update], this is the last time that Illinois has not lost any congressional districts during a post-census reapportionment.

Before the election, both the Democratic and Republican parties held 12 seats from Illinois. In 1972, Republicans won 14 seats, while Democrats won 10 seats.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Quick facts Turnout, Nominee ...

1972 Illinois gubernatorial election

← 1968 (Gov) 1968 (Lt. Gov) November 7, 1972 1976 →
Turnout	75.28%[1]
Nominee Dan Walker Richard B. Ogilvie Party Democratic Republican Running mate Neil Hartigan James D. Nowlan Popular vote 2,371,303 2,293,809 Percentage 50.7% 49.0%
County Results Walker:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Ogilvie:      50–60%      60–70%
Governor before election Richard B. Ogilvie Republican Elected Governor Dan Walker Democratic

Close

Incumbent Republican Richard B. Ogilvie lost to Democrat Dan Walker.

Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon did not seek reelection to a second term, instead opting to (ultimately unsuccessfully) seek the Democratic nomination for governor. Democrat Neil Hartigan was elected to succeed him.

This was the first gubernatorial elections in which gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates were elected on a ticket in the general election, per the 1970 Constitution of Illinois.

Attorney General

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1972 Illinois Attorney General election

← 1968 November 7, 1972 1976 →
Turnout	72.87%[1]
Nominee William J. Scott Thomas G. Lyons Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,898,198 1,613,103 Percentage 63.99% 35.62%
County results Scott:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Lyons:      50–60%
Attorney General before election William J. Scott Republican Elected Attorney General William J. Scott Republican

Close

Incumbent Attorney General William J. Scott, a Republican, was elected to a second term.

Secretary of State

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1972 Illinois Secretary of State election

← 1968 November 7, 1972 1976 →
Turnout	73.47%[1]
Nominee Michael Howlett Edmund J. Kucharski Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,360,327 2,187,554 Percentage 51.69% 47.90%
County results Howlett:      50–60%      60–70% Kucharski:      50–60%      60–70%
Secretary of State before election John W. Lewis Jr. Republican Elected Secretary of State Michael Howlett Democratic

Close

Incumbent Secretary of State John W. Lewis Jr., a Republican, had been appointed in 1970. He did not seek reelection. Democrat Michael Howlett was elected to succeed him in office.

Comptroller

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1972 Illinois State Comptroller election

← 1968 (Auditor of Public Accounts) November 7, 1972 1976 →
Turnout	69.74%[1]
Nominee George W. Lindberg Dean Barringer Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,217,440 2,094,798 Percentage 51.15% 48.33%
County results Lindberg:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Barringer:      50–60%      60–70%
Auditor of Public Accounts before election Michael Howlett Democratic State Comptroller George W. Lindberg Republican

Close

Comptroller was a newly formed office, created by the 1970 Constitution of Illinois to replace the office of Auditor of Public Accounts, of which the outgoing incumbent was Democrat Michael Howlett, who instead opted to run for Secretary of State. Republican George W. Lindberg was elected the inaugural Illinois Comptroller.

State Senate

Seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1972. Republicans flipped control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1972. 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 system.

The election saw the reelection of three-term former member Republican Park Livingston and first-term Republican incumbent Ralph Crane Hahn, as well as the election of new Republican member Jane S. Hayes Rader.^[1][2]

Democratic incumbent Robert B. Pogue (elected in a special election two years earlier) lost reelection.^[1][2]

Judicial elections

Multiple judicial positions were up for election in 1972.^[1]