1972 Illinois elections

1972 Illinois Attorney General election
Turnout	72.87%
Attorney General before election; William J. Scott; Republican	Elected Attorney General ; William J. Scott; Republican

1972 Illinois gubernatorial election
Turnout	75.28%
	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

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 7, 1972.^[1]

Primaries were held on March 21, 1972.^[1]

Election information

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]

Federal elections

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.

State elections

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

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.

1972 gubernatorial election, Illinois^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel Walker/Neil F. Hartigan	2,371,303	50.68
	Republican	Richard B. Ogilvie (incumbent)/James D. Nowlan	2,293,809	49.02
	Socialist Labor	George LaForest/Stanley L. Prorok	7,966	0.17
	Communist	Ishmael Flory/Theodore Pearson	4,592	0.10
	Write-in	Others	1,373	0.03
Total votes			4,679,043

Attorney General

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

Democratic primary

Illinois State Senator Thomas G. Lyons won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.

Attorney General Democratic primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thomas G. Lyons	954,194	100
	Write-in	Others	33	0.00
Total votes			954,227	100

Republican primary

Incumbent William J. Scott won the Republican primary, running unopposed.

Attorney General Republican primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William J. Scott (incumbent)	546,308	100
	Write-in	Others	7	0.00
Total votes			546,315	100

General election

Attorney General election^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William J. Scott (incumbent)	2,898,198	63.99
	Democratic	Thomas G. Lyons	1,613,103	35.62
	Socialist Labor	George P. Milonas	10,509	0.23
	Communist	Nancy J. Cohen	6,624	0.15
	Write-in	Others	402	0.01
Total votes			4,528,836	100

Secretary of State

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

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.

Democratic primary

Illinois Auditor of Public Accounts Michael J. Howlett won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.

Secretary of State Democratic primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael J. Howlett	1,039,947	100
	Write-in	Others	20	0.00
Total votes			1,039,967	100

Republican primary

Edmund J. Kucharski won the Republican primary, running unopposed.

Secretary of State Republican primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edmund J. Kucharski	503,473	100
	Write-in	Others	16	0.00
Total votes			503,489	100

General election

Secretary of State election^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Howlett	2,360,327	51.69
	Republican	Edmund J. Kucharski	2,187,554	47.90
	Socialist Labor	Elizabeth Schnur	12,419	0.27
	Communist	Frances Gabow	6,079	0.13
	Write-in	Others	281	0.01
Total votes			4,566,660	100

Comptroller

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%

Auditor of Public Accounts before election

Michael Howlett
Democratic

State Comptroller

George W. Lindberg
Republican

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.

Democratic primary

Dean Barringer won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.

Comptroller Democratic primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dean Barringer	913,221	71.82
	Write-in	Others	11	0.00
Total votes			913,232	100

Republican primary

George W. Lindberg won the Republican primary, running unopposed.

Comptroller Republican primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George W. Lindberg	480,769	100
	Write-in	Others	3	0.00
Total votes			480,772	100

General election

Comptroller election^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George W. Lindberg	2,217,440	51.16
	Democratic	Dean Barringer	2,094,798	48.33
	Socialist Labor	Clarys L. Essex	12,797	0.30
	Communist	Nathan Sharpe	9,325	0.22
	Write-in	Others	287	0.01
Total votes			4,334,647	100

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

1972 Trustees of University of Illinois election

← 1970

November 7, 1972

1974 →

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]

Trustees of the University of Illinois election^[1]^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ralph C. Hahn (incumbent)	2,204,218	17.47
	Republican	Jane S. Hayes Rader	2,199,006	17.42
	Republican	Park Livingston	2,168,248	17.18
	Democratic	Ellen Augustyn	2,014,589	15.96
	Democratic	Nicholas J. Bosen	1,974,000	15.64
	Democratic	Roger B. Pogue (incumbent)	1,938,476	15.36
	Socialist Labor	Edwin L. Williams	28,855	0.23
	Socialist Labor	Henry Schilling	23,168	0.18
	Socialist Labor	Gregory P. Lyngas	19,838	0.16
	Communist	John Robert Lumpkin	17,865	0.14
	Communist	Jack Kling	15,880	0.13
	Communist	William R. Fugate	15,699	0.12
	Write-in	Others	553	0.00
Total votes			12,620,395	100

Judicial elections

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

Local elections

Local elections were held.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 7, 1972 JUDICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, MARCH, 21, 1972" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 26, 2020.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ ^a ^b ^c "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.

[results-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 7, 1972 JUDICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, MARCH, 21, 1972" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 26, 2020.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[ui1-2] "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.

[1]

[2]

v t e 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 2024
Presidential	1820 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) 2024 (Dem primary, Rep 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 2024
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	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
Other state executive offices	Attorney General 2018 2022 Secretary of State 2022 Comptroller 2016
State Senate	2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
State House	2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
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) Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment (2016) Fair Tax (2020) Right to Collective Bargaining Amendment (2022)
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 1925 1927 1929 1931 1933 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
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

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