1978 Illinois gubernatorial election

← 1976

November 7, 1978

1982 →

Turnout

54.23%

19.95 pp


Nominee	James R. Thompson	Michael Bakalis
Party	Republican	Democratic
Running mate	David C. O'Neal	Dick Durbin
Popular vote	1,859,684	1,263,134
Percentage	59.0%	40.1%

County results

Thompson: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80%

Bakalis: 40–50% 50–60%

Governor before election

James R. Thompson
Republican

Elected Governor

James R. Thompson
Republican

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The 1978 Illinois gubernatorial election were held in Illinois in November 7, 1978.^[1] Republican James R. Thompson easily won a second term in office, defeating Democrat nominee Michael Bakalis by nearly 600,000 votes.

Election information[]

This was the first Illinois gubernatorial election that took place during the United States' midterm elections.^[2] The previous election had been in 1976.

The primary (held March 21) and general election coincided with those for federal offices (Senate and House) and those for other state offices.^[1]^[3] The election was part of the 1978 Illinois elections.

Turnout[]

Turnout in the primaries saw 20.39% in the gubernatorial primaries, with a total of 1,201,603 votes cast, and 16.33% in the lieutenant gubernatorial primary, with 962,288 votes cast.^[3]

Turnout during the general election was 54.23%, with 3,150,107 votes cast.^[1]

Democratic primary[]

Governor[]

Incumbent Illinois Comptroller Michael Bakalis won the Democratic primary.

Bakalis' opponent had been Dakin Williams, a prosecutor who was the younger brother of famous playwright Tennessee Williams.^[4] Williams had been a candidate for the Democratic nomination of Illinois' US Senate seat in 1972, and had unsuccessfully sought the nomination for the state's other US Senate seat in 1974.^[5]

Democratic gubernatorial primary^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Bakalis	601,045	82.85
	Democratic	Dakin Williams	124,406	17.15
	Write-in	Others	8	0.00
Total votes			725,459	100

Lieutenant Governor[]

Lawyer Dick Durbin won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, running unopposed.

Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard J. Durbin	528,819	100
	Write-in	Others	5	0.00
Total votes			528,824	100

Republican primary[]

Governor[]

Incumbent governor James R. Thompson won renomination, running unopposed.

Republican gubernatorial primary^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James R. Thompson (incumbent)	476,043	99.98
	Write-in	Others	101	0.02
Total votes			476,144	100

Lieutenant Governor[]

Incumbent lieutenant governor Dave O'Neal won renomination, running unopposed.

Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David C. O'Neal	433,453	100
	Write-in	Others	11	0.00
Total votes			433,464	100

Results[]

1978 gubernatorial election, Illinois^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James R. Thompson (incumbent)/David C. O'Neal (incumbent)	1,859,684	59.04
	Democratic	Michael Bakalis/Richard J. Durbin	1,263,134	40.10
	Libertarian	Georgia Shields/Marji Kohls	11,420	0.36
	Socialist Workers	Cecil Lampkin/Dennis Brasky	11,026	0.35
	U.S. Labor	Melvin Klenetsky/David R. Hoffman	4,737	0.15
	Write-in	Others	106	0.00	n-a
Majority			596,550	18.94
Turnout			3,150,107	54.23
	Republican hold		Swing

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 7, 1978" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 25 June 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ w. "Illinois Constitution – Article V". Ilga.gov. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL PRIMARY ELECTION MARCH 21, 1978" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 25 June 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Tennessee Williams' brother dead at 89". The State Journal-Register. 22 May 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
^ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - W. Dakin Williams". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
^ [1]

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v t Elections in Illinois
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