1978 United States Senate election in Illinois

← 1972

November 7, 1978

1984 →

Turnout

54.82%


Nominee	Charles Percy	Alex Seith
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	1,698,711	1,448,187
Percentage	53.34%	45.47%

County results
Percy: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
Seith: 50–60% 60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Charles H. Percy
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Charles H. Percy
Republican

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The 1978 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 7, 1978.^[1] Incumbent Republican United States Senator Charles H. Percy ran for re-election to a third term in the United States Senate. Percy was opposed by Democratic nominee Alex Seith, an attorney who had been appointed to several local government positions.

Though Percy had been originally been expected to have an easy to reelection over Seith, a first-time candidate, the election quickly became competitive.

As of 2021, this is the last time the Republicans won the Class 2 Senate seat in Illinois, and also the last time a Republican Senate candidate has carried Cook County.

Election information[]

The primary (held on March 21) and general election coincided with those for House and state elections.^[1]^[2]

Turnout[]

Turnout in the primaries was 19.88%, with a total of 1,171,744 votes cast.^[2]

Turnout during the general election was 54.82%, with 3,184,764 votes cast.^[1]

Democratic primary[]

Candidates[]

Anthony R. Martin-Trigona, political activist
Alex Seith, Chairman of the Cook County Zoning Board of Appeals^[3]

Results[]

Democratic primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alex Seith	483,196	69.49
	Democratic	Anthony R. Martin-Trigona	212,105	30.51
	Write-in	Others	11	0.00
Total votes			695,312	100

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Lawrence Joseph Sarsfield Daly, perennial candidate
Charles H. Percy, incumbent

Results[]

Republican primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles H. Percy (incumbent)	401,409	84.25
	Republican	Lar "America First" Daly	74,739	0.16
	Write-in	Others	284	0.06
Total votes			476,432	100

Other nominees[]

Bruce Lee Green (Libertarian Party)
Patricia Grogan (Socialist Workers Party)
Gerald Rose (Socialist Labor Party of America)

General election[]

Campaign[]

Though Percy had been expected to coast to re-election over Seith, a first-time candidate, the election quickly became competitive. In the last few days of the campaign, a desperate Percy ran a television advertisement that featured him apologizing and acknowledging that, "I got your message and you're right."^[4] Percy's last-ditch effort appeared to have paid off, as he was able to edge out Seith to win what would end up being his third and final term in the Senate.

Results[]

According to an NBC News exit poll, Percy won 50% of black voters, 54% of voters 35 years old or young, and 58% of Jewish voters.^[5]

United States Senate election in Illinois, 1978^[1]^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Charles H. Percy (incumbent)	1,698,711	53.34%	-8.88%
	Democratic	Alex Seith	1,448,187	45.47%	+8.13%
	Libertarian	Bruce Lee Green	16,320	0.51%
	Socialist Workers	Patricia Grogan	15,922	0.50%
	Socialist Labor	Gerald Rose	5,465	0.18%
	Write-in	Others	159	0.00%
Majority			250,524	7.87%	-17.00%
Turnout			3,184,764
	Republican hold		Swing

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 7, 1978" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 25, 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL PRIMARY ELECTION MARCH 21, 1978" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 25, 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ https://web.archive.org/web/20060908065145/http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1977/ii771212.html
^ "The Message of the 1978 Off-Year Elections". Time.com. November 20, 1978. Archived from the original on October 14, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
^ "NBC News – Live Election Night Coverage, November 7, 1978". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 2, 2014.

v t Elections in Illinois
By year	1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1969 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1998 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Presidential	1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 (Dem primary, Rep primary) 2012 2016 (Dem primary) 2020 (Dem primary)
U.S. Senate	1885 1913 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020
U.S. House	2000 (1st) 2006 2008 2010 (17th) 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020
Special	2nd Congressional, 1995 14th Congressional, 2008 5th Congressional, 2009 2nd Congressional, 2013 18th Congressional, 2015 Comptroller, 2016
Gubernatorial	1818 1822 1826 1830 1834 1838 1842 1846 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018
Lieutenant Gubernatorial	1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968
Other state executive offices	Attorney General 2018 Secretary of State 2022 Comptroller 2016
State Senate	2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State House	2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State judicial	1936 1938 1940 1942 1948 1960 1962 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Statewide ballot referendums	Cutback Amendment (1980) Illinois Governor Recall Amendment (2010) Illinois Public Pension Amendment (2012) Marsy's Law (2014) Illinois Right to Vote Amendment (2014) Illinois Fair Tax (2020)
Chicago mayoral	1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 (Mar) 1844 (Apr) 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1876 (Apr) 1876 (Jul) 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 (Apr) 1893 (Dec) 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1911 1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1977 1979 1983 1987 1989 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Chicago City Council	1923 1927 1929 2015 2019
Other municipal	1924 Cicero
Cook County	1946 1980 (State's Attorney) 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022

v t (1977 ←) 1978 United States elections (→ 1979)
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Mayors	Cleveland, OH (recall) San Jose, CA Washington, D.C.

1978 United States Senate election in Illinois

Contents

Election information[]

Turnout[]

Democratic primary[]

Candidates[]

Results[]

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Results[]

Other nominees[]

General election[]

Campaign[]

Results[]

See also[]

References[]