1976 Illinois gubernatorial election
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| Turnout | 74.18%  1.1 pp | |||||||||||||||||||
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 County Results Thompson: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Howlett: 50–60% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Illinois |
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Gubernatorial elections were held in Illinois on November 2, 1976.[1] Incumbent Governor Dan Walker lost renomination in favor of Secretary of State Michael J. Howlett, who was a Daley ally. Howlett then lost the general election to Republican James R. Thompson.
Election information
This election was for a two-year term which would synchronize future gubernatorial elections with midterm election years, rather than presidential election years, as the 1970 Constitution of Illinois required gubernatorial elections to be held in midterm election years starting in 1978.[2] The previous election had been in 1976.
The primaries (held on March 16) and general eleciton coincided with those for federal offices (United States President and House) and those for other state offices.[1] The election was part of the 1976 Illinois elections.
Turnout
Turnout in the primaries saw 38.79% in the gubernatorial primaries, with a total of 2,231,910 votes cast, and 33.89% in the lieutenant gubernatorial primary, with 1,949,469 votes cast.[1]
Turnout during the general election was 74.18%, with 4,639,010 votes cast.[1]
Democratic primary
Governor
The incumbent Governor, Dan Walker, had a contentious relationship with the Daley Machine, which backed Secretary of State Michael J. Howlett. Walker carried most of the state's counties, but Howlett carried Cook county by a wide margin and was ultimately nominated.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michael J. Howlett | 811,721 | 53.82 | ||
| Democratic | Dan Walker (incumbent) | 696,380 | 46.17 | ||
| Write-in | Others | 245 | 0.02 | n−a | |
| Majority | 115,341 | 7.65 | |||
| Turnout | 1,508,346 | ||||
Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Neil Hartigan was renominated, defeating Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago commissioner Joanne H. Alter.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Neil F. Hartigan (incumbent) | 857,910 | 66.29 | |
| Democratic | Joanne H. Alter | 436,322 | 33.71 | |
| Write-in | Others | 29 | 0.00 | |
| Total votes | 1,294,232 | 100 | ||
Republican primary
Governor
Thompson won the Republican Primary in a landslide, carrying every county.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | James R. Thompson | 625,457 | 86.44 | ||
| Republican | Richard H. Cooper | 97,937 | 13.54 | ||
| Republican | write-ins | 170 | 0.02 | n−a | |
| Majority | 527,484 | 29.97 | |||
| Turnout | 723,564 | ||||
Lieutenant Governor
Dave O'Neal won the Republican primary, defeating Joan G. Anderson.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | David C. O'Neal | 376,126 | 57.40 | |
| Republican | Joan G. Anderson | 279,087 | 42.59 | |
| Write-in | Others | 24 | 0.00 | |
| Total votes | 655,237 | 100 | ||
General election
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | James R. Thompson/Dave O'Neal | 3,000,365 | 64.68 | ||
| Democratic | Michael J. Howlett/Neil F. Hartigan | 1,610,258 | 34.71 | ||
| Communist | Ishmael Flory/Linda R. Appelhans | 10,091 | 0.22 | ||
| Libertarian | F. Joseph McCaffrey/Georgia E. Shields | 7,552 | 0.16 | ||
| Socialist Workers | Suzanne Haig/Dennis Brasky | 4,926 | 0.11 | ||
| Socialist Labor | George LaForest/Stanley A. Prorok | 3,147 | 0.07 | ||
| U.S. Labor | Edward Waffle/Peter Matni | 2,302 | 0.05 | ||
| Write-in | Others | 369 | 0.01 | n−a | |
| Majority | 1,390,137 | 29.97 | |||
| Turnout | 4,639,010 | ||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | ||||