1978 Illinois gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1978 United States gubernatorial elections.

1978 Illinois gubernatorial election

November 7, 1978
Turnout	54.23% 19.95 pp
Nominee Jim Thompson Michael Bakalis Party Republican Democratic Running mate Dave O'Neal Dick Durbin Popular vote 1,859,684 1,263,134 Percentage 59.04% 40.10%
County results Thompson:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Bakalis:      40–50%      50–60%
Governor before election James R. Thompson Republican Elected Governor James R. Thompson Republican

The 1978 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 7, 1978.^[1] Republican James R. Thompson easily won a second term in office, defeating Democratic nominee Michael Bakalis by nearly 600,000 votes.

Background

This was the first Illinois gubernatorial election that took place during the United States' midterm elections.^[2] The previous election had been in 1976.

The primary (held March 21) and general election coincided with those for federal offices (Senate and House) and those for other state offices.^[1][3] The election was part of the 1978 Illinois elections.

Turnout in the primaries saw 20.39% in the gubernatorial primaries, with a total of 1,201,603 votes cast, and 16.33% in the lieutenant gubernatorial primary, with 962,288 votes cast.^[3] Turnout during the general election was 54.23%, with 3,150,107 votes cast.^[1]

Democratic primary

Governor

Incumbent Illinois Comptroller Michael Bakalis won the Democratic primary.

Bakalis' opponent had been Dakin Williams, a prosecutor who was the younger brother of famous playwright Tennessee Williams.^[4] Williams had been a candidate for the Democratic nomination of Illinois' US Senate seat in 1972, and had unsuccessfully sought the nomination for the state's other US Senate seat in 1974.^[5]

Democratic gubernatorial primary^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Bakalis	601,045	82.85
	Democratic	Dakin Williams	124,406	17.15
	Write-in	Others	8	0.00
Total votes			725,459	100

Lieutenant governor

Lawyer and future congressman and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, running unopposed.

Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard J. Durbin	528,819	100
	Write-in	Others	5	0.00
Total votes			528,824	100

Republican primary

Governor

Incumbent governor James R. Thompson won renomination, running unopposed.

Republican gubernatorial primary^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James R. Thompson (incumbent)	476,043	99.98
	Write-in	Others	101	0.02
Total votes			476,144	100

Lieutenant governor

Incumbent lieutenant governor Dave O'Neal won renomination, running unopposed.

Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David C. O'Neal	433,453	100
	Write-in	Others	11	0.00
Total votes			433,464	100

Results

1978 gubernatorial election, Illinois^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James R. Thompson (incumbent)/David C. O'Neal (incumbent)	1,859,684	59.04
	Democratic	Michael Bakalis/Richard J. Durbin	1,263,134	40.10
	Libertarian	Georgia Shields/Marji Kohls	11,420	0.36
	Socialist Workers	Cecil Lampkin/Dennis Brasky	11,026	0.35
	U.S. Labor	Melvin Klenetsky/David R. Hoffman	4,737	0.15
	Write-in	Others	106	0.00	n−a
Majority			596,550	18.94
Turnout			3,150,107	54.23
	Republican hold		Swing

References

1. "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 7, 1978" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 25, 2020.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
2. w. "Illinois Constitution – Article V". Ilga.gov. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
3. "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL PRIMARY ELECTION MARCH 21, 1978" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
4. "Tennessee Williams' brother dead at 89". The State Journal-Register. May 22, 2008. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
5. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - W. Dakin Williams". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
6. "1978 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Illinois". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2022.