1876 Illinois gubernatorial election

1876 Illinois gubernatorial election

November 6, 1876

Nominee Shelby Moore Cullom Lewis Steward Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 279,263 272,465 Percentage 50.58% 49.35%

Governor before election John Lourie Beveridge Republican Elected Governor Shelby Moore Cullom Republican

The 1876 Illinois gubernatorial election was the sixteenth election for this office. Representative Shelby Moore Cullom narrowly defeated businessman Lewis Steward for the Governorship of Illinois. This was the narrowest victory for a Republican Governor since 1856, when William H. Bissell narrowly won the office in a plurality. Cullom's victory was the sixth consecutive victory for the Republican Party. Cullom also slightly overperformed Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes in the concurrent Presidential election.

Republican Andrew Shuman was elected Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. At this time in Illinois history, the Lieutenant Governor was elected on a separate ballot from the governor. This would remain so until the 1970 constitution.

Results

1876 gubernatorial election, Illinois

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Shelby Moore Cullom	279,263	50.58%	-3.83%
	Democratic	Lewis Steward	272,465	49.35%	N/A%
	Write-in	Samuel B. Allen	184	0.03%	N/A
	Prohibition	James F. Simpson	181	0.03%	N/A
Majority			6,798	1.23%	-8.08%
Turnout			552,093
	Republican hold		Swing

References

• Our Campaigns – Illinois Governor Race – Nov 6, 1876