1986 Illinois gubernatorial election

1986 Illinois gubernatorial election
Turnout	52.37% 9.21 pp
	County results; Thompson: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80%; Stevenson: 40-50% 50-60%
Governor before election; James R. Thompson; Republican	Elected Governor ; James R. Thompson; Republican

The 1986 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1986. Republican candidate James R. Thompson won a fourth term in office, defeating Solidaritist Adlai Stevenson III by around 400,000 votes. The Democratic Party just passed the 5% mark to retain major party status.

Primaries were held March 18, 1986.^[1]

Election information[]

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for federal offices (Senate and House), as well as those for other state offices. The election was part of the 1986 Illinois elections.^[1]^[2]

Turnout[]

The primaries saw turnout of 21.10% in the gubernatorial primaries, with 1,289,162 votes cast, and turnout of 18.01% in the lieutenant gubernatorial primaries, with 1,100,110 votes cast.^[1]

Turnout during the general election was 52.37%, with 3,143,978 votes cast.^[2]

Democratic primary[]

The 1986 election was a rematch of the 1982 election, which had been narrowly won by Thompson over Adlai Stevenson III by about 5,000 votes out of over 3.5 million votes cast. However, Stevenson's efforts were largely derailed in the primary when the candidates he supported for Lieutenant Governor (George Sangmeister) and Secretary of State (Aurelia Pucinski) were both upset by Mark J. Fairchild and Janice Hart. While not heavily publicized during the primaries, Fairchild and Hart were followers of the controversial Lyndon LaRouche. When this became public knowledge after the primaries, Stevenson was forced to abandon his Democratic Party nomination and run as a third-party candidate. As of 2016, this remains the last time a third party candidate finished in the top two in the Illinois governor's race.^[3]

Stevenson made it clear right after learning his running mate was to be a LaRouche supporter that he would "never run on a ticket with candidates who espouse the hate-filled folly of Lyndon LaRouche".^[4]

Governor[]

Adlai Stevenson III, former United States Senator and 1982 gubernatorial nominee, defeated Larry Burgess in the Democratic primary.

Originally Neil Hartigan had declared himself a candidate for governor, but after Stevenson's entrance into the race, he instead opted to run for reelection as Illinois Attorney General.^[5]^[6]

Democratic gubernatorial primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adlai E. Stevenson	735,249	92.93
	Democratic	Larry Burgess	55,930	7.07
	Write-in	Others	1	0.00
Total votes			791,180	100

Lieutenant Governor[]

Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark J. Fairchild	340,727	51.75
	Democratic	George E. Sangmeister	317,700	48.25
	Write-in	Others	4	0.00
Total votes			658,431	100

Republican primary[]

Governor[]

Incumbent James R. Thompson defeated his sole challenger, Peter Bowen.

Republican gubernatorial primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James R. Thompson (incumbent)	452,685	90.90
	Republican	Peter Bowen	45,236	9.08
	Write-in	Others	61	0.01
Total votes			497,982	100

Lieutenant Governor[]

Incumbent George Ryan won the Republican primary for lieutenant governor, running unopposed.

Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George Ryan (incumbent)	441,672	100
	Write-in	Others	7	0.00
Total votes			441,679	100

Third-party nominations[]

Adlai Stevenson III's newly-formed Illinois Solidarity Party nominated him for governor and Mike Howlett for lieutenant governor.

The Libertarian Party nominated Gary L. Shilts for governor and Gerry Walsh for lieutenant governor.^[7]

The Socialist Workers Party nominated Diane Roling for governor and Jim Little for lieutenant governor.^[7]

General election[]

1986 Illinois gubernatorial election^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James R. Thompson (incumbent)/ George Ryan (incumbent)	1,655,849	52.67	+3.23
	Illinois Solidarity	Adlai Stevenson III/ Mike Howlett	1,256,626	39.97	N/A
	Democratic	No candidate/ Mark Fairchild	208,830	6.64	-42.66
	Libertarian	Gary L. Shilts/ Gerry Walsh	15,646	0.50	-0.16
	Socialist Workers	Diane Roling/ Jim Little	6,843	0.22	+0.22
	Write-in	Charles E. Koen	141	0.01	N/A
	Write-in	Wilbur L. Keeling	30	0.00	N/A
	Write-in	David L. Bernabie	13	0.00	N/A
Majority			399,223	12.70
Turnout			3,143,978	52.37
	Republican hold		Swing

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, MARCH 18, 1986" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
^ Malcolm, Andrew H. (20 March 1986), "2 CONSERVATIVE EXTREMISTS UPSET DEMOCRATS IN THE ILLINOIS PRIMARY", New York Times, pp. A18, retrieved 9 November 2016, However, politicians here suggested other reasons: an unusually low turnout of about 25 percent of the 6.1 million registered voters and the relatively unfamiliar names of Mr. Stevenson's candidates, George Sangmeister for Lieutenant Governor and Aurelia Pucinski for Secretary of State. The LaRouche victors were Mark J. Fairchild for Lieutenant Governor and Janice Hart for Secretary of State.
^ Kraft, Scott; Greem, Larry (20 March 1986), "Two LaRouche Illinois Victories Stun Democrats", L.A. Times, retrieved 9 November 2016, At a packed news conference Wednesday night, Stevenson declared: "I will never run on a ticket with candidates who espouse the hate-filled folly of Lyndon LaRouche."
^ Dold, R. Bruce (8 December 1985). "RYAN FIGHTS HISTORY IN CAMPAIGN". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
^ Dold, R. Bruce (30 October 1986). "CAREY FIGHTS HARTIGAN`S LEAD IN ATTORNEY GENERAL CONTEST". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
^ ^a ^b Egler, Daniel (31 July 1986). "STEVENSON IN FILING LINE BEHIND MINOR PARTIES". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 April 2020.

[PE-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, MARCH 18, 1986" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved 10 April 2020.

[GE-2] "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 10 April 2020.

[3] Malcolm, Andrew H. (20 March 1986), "2 CONSERVATIVE EXTREMISTS UPSET DEMOCRATS IN THE ILLINOIS PRIMARY", New York Times, pp. A18, retrieved 9 November 2016, However, politicians here suggested other reasons: an unusually low turnout of about 25 percent of the 6.1 million registered voters and the relatively unfamiliar names of Mr. Stevenson's candidates, George Sangmeister for Lieutenant Governor and Aurelia Pucinski for Secretary of State. The LaRouche victors were Mark J. Fairchild for Lieutenant Governor and Janice Hart for Secretary of State.

[4] Kraft, Scott; Greem, Larry (20 March 1986), "Two LaRouche Illinois Victories Stun Democrats", L.A. Times, retrieved 9 November 2016, At a packed news conference Wednesday night, Stevenson declared: "I will never run on a ticket with candidates who espouse the hate-filled folly of Lyndon LaRouche."

[5] Dold, R. Bruce (8 December 1985). "RYAN FIGHTS HISTORY IN CAMPAIGN". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 April 2020.

[6] Dold, R. Bruce (30 October 1986). "CAREY FIGHTS HARTIGAN`S LEAD IN ATTORNEY GENERAL CONTEST". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 April 2020.

[egler1-7] Egler, Daniel (31 July 1986). "STEVENSON IN FILING LINE BEHIND MINOR PARTIES". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 April 2020.

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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 2022
U.S. House	2000 (1st) 2006 2008 2010 (17th) 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
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 2022
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 2022 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
Ballot measures and referendums	State capitol referendum (1834) Cutback Amendment (1980) Crime Victim Rights Amendment (1992) Governor Recall Amendment (2010) Public Pension Amendment (2012) Marsy's Law (2014) Right to Vote Amendment (2014) Transporation Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment (2016) 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 (1985 ←) 1986 United States elections (→ 1987)
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Mayors	New Orleans, LA San Diego, CA (special) San Jose, CA Washington, D.C.

v t Notable third party performances in United States elections
* Third party is endorsed by a major party
Presidential (since 1832)	1832 1848 1856 1860 1872* 1892 1912 1924 1948 1960 1968 1980 1992 1996
Senatorial (since 1940)	California 1940 Minnesota 1940 North Dakota 1940 Wisconsin 1940 Minnesota 1942 Minnesota 1942 Nebraska 1942 Virginia 1942 North Dakota 1944 Wisconsin 1944 North Dakota 1946 North Dakota 1946 Tennessee 1946 Arkansas 1948 Alabama 1950 New Hampshire 1950 California 1952 Maine 1952 New York 1952 North Dakota 1952 Virginia 1952 South Carolina 1954 (Democratic write-in) Virginia 1954 Utah 1958 Virginia 1958 Virginia 1960 Virginia 1964 Mississippi 1966 Virginia 1966 Virginia 1966 Alabama 1968 Alaska 1968 Maryland 1968 New York 1968 Connecticut 1970 Mississippi 1970 New York 1970 Virginia 1970 Louisiana 1972 Florida 1974 Hawaii 1974 New York 1974 Utah 1974 Minnesota 1976 Virginia 1976 Alabama 1978 Arkansas 1978 Maine 1978 Mississippi 1978 New York 1980 Washington 1982 Tennessee 1984 Virginia 1990 Alaska 1992 Arizona 1992 Hawaii 1992 Louisiana 1992 Ohio 1992 Arizona 1994 Minnesota 1994 Ohio 1994 Vermont 1994 Virginia 1994 Alaska 1996 Minnesota 1996 Arizona 2000 Massachusetts 2000 Minnesota 2000 Alaska 2002 Kansas 2002 Massachusetts 2002 Mississippi 2002 Oklahoma 2002 Virginia 2002 Oklahoma 2004 Connecticut 2006 Indiana 2006 Maine 2006 Vermont 2006* Arkansas 2008 Idaho 2008 Minnesota 2008 Oregon 2008 Alaska 2010 (Republican write-in) Florida 2010 Indiana 2010 South Carolina 2010 Utah 2010 Indiana 2012 Maine 2012 Maryland 2012 Missouri 2012 Montana 2012 Vermont 2012* Kansas 2014 South Dakota 2014 Wyoming 2014 Alaska 2016 Arizona 2016 Idaho 2016 Indiana 2016 Kansas 2016 Maine 2018 New Mexico 2018 Vermont 2018* Alaska 2020* Arkansas 2020 Minnesota 2020 Nebraska 2020
Gubernatorial (since 1940)	Minnesota 1940 Wisconsin 1940 Connecticut 1942 Minnesota 1942 New York 1942 Wisconsin 1942 North Dakota 1944 Wisconsin 1944 California 1946 Tennessee 1950 Maine 1952 Vermont 1952 Tennessee 1954 Nebraska 1956 Texas 1956 Utah 1956 Oklahoma 1958 Tennessee 1958 North Dakota 1960 Tennessee 1962 Virginia 1965 Alabama 1966 Georgia 1966 Idaho 1966 Maryland 1966 New York 1966 Tennessee 1966 Alabama 1970 Arkansas 1970 New Hampshire 1970 New York 1970 Mississippi 1971 New Hampshire 1972 Texas 1972 Washington 1972 Virginia 1973 Maine 1974 Nebraska 1974 Nevada 1974 Texas 1974 Vermont 1974 Vermont 1976 Alaska 1978 California 1978 Maine 1978 Rhode Island 1978 Alaska 1982 Arizona 1982 Hawaii 1982 Alaska 1986 Arizona 1986 Illinois 1986 Maine 1986 Oklahoma 1986 Vermont 1986 Utah 1988 Alaska 1990 Connecticut 1990 Kansas 1990 Maine 1990 New York 1990 Oklahoma 1990 Oregon 1990 Utah 1992 West Virginia 1992 Alaska 1994 Connecticut 1994 Hawaii 1994 Maine 1994 New Mexico 1994 Oklahoma 1994 Pennsylvania 1994 Rhode Island 1994 Vermont 1994 Alaska 1998 Maine 1998 Minnesota 1998 New York 1998 Pennsylvania 1998 Rhode Island 1998 Kentucky 1999 New Hampshire 2000 Vermont 2000 Arizona 2002 California 2002 Maine 2002 Minnesota 2002 New Mexico 2002 New York 2002 Oklahoma 2002 Vermont 2002 Wisconsin 2002 Alaska 2006 Illinois 2006 Maine 2006 Massachusetts 2006 Minnesota 2006 Texas 2006 Louisiana 2007 Vermont 2008 New Jersey 2009 Colorado 2010 Idaho 2010 Maine 2010 Massachusetts 2010 Minnesota 2010 Rhode Island 2010 Wyoming 2010 Kentucky 2011 Virginia 2013 Alaska 2014* Hawaii 2014 Maine 2014 Rhode Island 2014 Wyoming 2014 Maine 2018 Kansas 2018 Indiana 2020 Vermont 2020*
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