1968 United States presidential election in Illinois explained

See main article: 1968 United States presidential election.

The 1968 United States presidential election in Illinois took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the overall 1968 United States presidential election. Illinois voters selected 26 electors to represent the state in the Electoral College, which would then choose the president and vice president.

Illinois had been consistently Republican during the "System of 1896," with the exception of a few areas in the southern part of the state that sympathized with the Confederacy during the American Civil War.^[1] However, starting from the New Deal era, Illinois became a crucial swing state, having voted for the winner of every presidential election since 1920.

Like other states in the Midwest, Illinois had been severely affected by racial tension during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson.^[2] This situation played a role in Charles H. Percy's comfortable Senate win, as he defeated Democrat Paul Douglas. Illinois, particularly the Metro East region, was affected less by racial tension compared to states located to its east.^[3]

By the time the election campaign was in full swing at the end of the summer, Democratic nominee and incumbent Vice-President Hubert Humphrey was clearly in serious trouble, and early polling suggested he would have little chance in the state.^[4] Humphrey was further hindered by the refusal of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley Sr. to help him.^[5]

The failure of Nixon’s “50 State Strategy” in 1960 led him to focus on a few electoral-vote-rich states, of which Illinois was one of the most critical.^[6] Humphrey lost further in polling during September,^[7] and at the end of the first week of October Nixon had a substantial lead.^[8] Nevertheless, when the Vice-President campaigned alongside rival former and future Alabama Governor George Wallace,^[9] he would gain sharply so that state became extremely close at the beginning of November.

Primaries

Turnout

Turnout in the preference vote of the primaries was 0.67%, with a total of 34,241 votes cast.^{[10] [11]} Turnout in the general election was 81.39%, with a total of 4,619,749 votes cast.^[10] Both major parties held non-binding state-run preferential primaries on June 11. All candidates were write-ins.^[10]

Democratic

The 1968 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on June 11, 1968 in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Democratic Party's state primaries ahead of the 1968 presidential election.

The preference vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct vote in each congressional districts on delegate candidates.^[10] While he received 33.66% of the vote, Ted Kennedy was not an active candidate for the nomination. The primary occurred the week after his brother Robert F. Kennedy (who had been running for president) was assassinated. Additionally, while he still received some votes, incumbent president Lyndon B. Johnson had already ruled himself out for the nomination.

1968 Illinois Democratic presidential primary! style="text-align:left;"

Candidate	Votes	%
Eugene McCarthy (write-in)	4,646	38.60
Edward Kennedy (write-in)	4,052	33.66
Hubert H. Humphrey (write-in)	2,059	17.10
George Wallace (write-in)	768	6.38
Lyndon B. Johnson (write-in)	162	1.35
Other write-ins	351	2.92
Total	12,038	100

Republican

The 1968 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on June 11, 1968 in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 1968 presidential election.

In this election, all candidates were write-ins.^[10]

The preference vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct vote in each congressional districts on delegate candidates.^[10]

1968 Illinois Republican presidential primary^[12] ! style="text-align:left;"

Candidate	Votes	%
Richard M. Nixon (write-in)	17,490	78.77
Nelson A. Rockefeller (write-in)	2,165	9.75
Ronald Reagan (write-in)	1,601	7.21
George Wallace (write-in)	386	1.74
Eugene McCarthy (write-in)	162	0.73
Charles Percy (write-in)	120	0.54
George Romney (write-in)	16	0.07
Other write-ins	263	1.19
Total	22,203	100

Results

Presidential Candidate	Running Mate	Party	Electoral Vote (EV)	Popular Vote (PV)
Richard Nixon	Spiro Agnew	Republican	26	2,174,774	47.08%
Hubert Humphrey	Edmund Muskie	Democratic	0	2,039,814	44.15%
George Wallace	Curtis LeMay	Independent	0	390,958	8.46%
Henning Blomen	George Taylor	Socialist Labor	0	13,878	0.30%
Write-ins	—	—	0	325	0.01%

Results by county

County	Richard Nixon Republican		Hubert Humphrey Democratic		George Wallace Independent		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast[13]
		%		%		%		%		%
	Adams		17,444		54.33%		11,521		35.88%		3,115		9.70%		28		0.09%		5,923		18.45%		32,108
	Alexander		2,540		36.63%		2,929		42.24%		1,443		20.81%		22		0.32%		-389		-5.61%		6,934
	Bond		3,674		52.84%		2,516		36.19%		758		10.90%		5		0.07%		1,158		16.65%		6,953
	Boone		5,936		62.27%		2,801		29.38%		783		8.21%		13		0.14%		3,135		32.89%		9,533
	Brown		1,629		51.50%		1,265		39.99%		247		7.81%		22		0.70%		364		11.51%		3,163
	Bureau		11,216		59.97%		6,304		33.71%		1,171		6.26%		12		0.06%		4,912		26.26%		18,703
	Calhoun		1,542		49.12%		1,329		42.34%		266		8.47%		2		0.06%		213		6.78%		3,139
	Carroll		5,275		63.69%		2,558		30.89%		440		5.31%		9		0.11%		2,717		32.80%		8,282
	Cass		3,411		47.78%		3,302		46.25%		424		5.94%		2		0.03%		109		1.53%		7,139
	Champaign		26,027		53.50%		18,425		37.87%		3,857		7.93%		339		0.70%		7,602		15.63%		48,648
	Christian		7,486		42.31%		8,465		47.84%		1,730		9.78%		13		0.07%		-979		-5.53%		17,694
	Clark		4,809		56.08%		2,813		32.80%		949		11.07%		4		0.05%		1,996		23.28%		8,575
	Clay		4,429		55.46%		2,878		36.04%		672		8.41%		7		0.09%		1,551		19.42%		7,986
	Clinton		6,561		53.78%		4,453		36.50%		1,180		9.67%		5		0.04%		2,108		17.28%		12,199
	Coles		10,449		52.86%		7,337		37.12%		1,973		9.98%		7		0.04%		3,112		15.74%		19,766
	Cook		960,493		41.11%		1,181,316		50.56%		186,921		8.00%		7,808		0.33%		-220,823		-9.45%		2,336,538
	Crawford		5,870		58.13%		3,383		33.50%		840		8.32%		5		0.05%		2,487		24.63%		10,098
	Cumberland		2,671		53.12%		1,828		36.36%		512		10.18%		17		0.34%		843		16.76%		5,028
	DeKalb		14,535		63.20%		6,974		30.32%		1,238		5.38%		252		1.10%		7,561		32.88%		22,999
	DeWitt		4,247		54.21%		2,823		36.04%		759		9.69%		5		0.06%		1,424		18.17%		7,834
	Douglas		5,058		59.25%		2,824		33.08%		651		7.63%		4		0.05%		2,234		26.17%		8,537
	DuPage		124,893		66.61%		48,492		25.86%		13,814		7.37%		297		0.16%		76,401		40.75%		187,496
	Edgar		6,281		56.33%		3,565		31.97%		1,292		11.59%		13		0.12%		2,716		24.36%		11,151
	Edwards		2,633		63.68%		1,095		26.48%		403		9.75%		4		0.10%		1,538		37.20%		4,135
	Effingham		6,698		55.95%		4,496		37.55%		777		6.49%		1		0.01%		2,202		18.40%		11,972
	Fayette		5,449		52.38%		4,011		38.56%		939		9.03%		4		0.04%		1,438		13.82%		10,403
	Ford		5,233		65.38%		2,216		27.69%		550		6.87%		5		0.06%		3,017		37.69%		8,004
	Franklin		9,036		42.88%		10,095		47.90%		1,930		9.16%		13		0.06%		-1,059		-5.02%		21,074
	Fulton		9,582		46.72%		9,622		46.92%		1,234		6.02%		71		0.35%		-40		-0.20%		20,509
	Gallatin		1,802		43.01%		1,980		47.26%		404		9.64%		4		0.10%		-178		-4.25%		4,190
	Greene		3,944		51.17%		3,094		40.14%		660		8.56%		10		0.13%		850		11.03%		7,708
	Grundy		6,607		59.50%		3,407		30.68%		1,085		9.77%		6		0.05%		3,200		28.82%		11,105
	Hamilton		2,912		52.82%		1,951		35.39%		643		11.66%		7		0.13%		961		17.43%		5,513
	Hancock		6,866		60.24%		3,720		32.64%		806		7.07%		5		0.04%		3,146		27.60%		11,397
	Hardin		1,492		51.75%		1,199		41.59%		187		6.49%		5		0.17%		293		10.16%		2,883
	Henderson		2,224		53.62%		1,635		39.42%		288		6.94%		1		0.02%		589		14.20%		4,148
	Henry		12,524		55.10%		8,455		37.20%		1,725		7.59%		27		0.12%		4,069		17.90%		22,731
	Iroquois		10,885		67.89%		3,897		24.31%		1,225		7.64%		26		0.16%		6,988		43.58%		16,033
	Jackson		9,134		46.47%		8,856		45.05%		1,645		8.37%		22		0.11%		278		1.42%		19,657
	Jasper		2,944		51.78%		2,012		35.39%		728		12.80%		2		0.04%		932		16.39%		5,686
	Jefferson		7,367		47.63%		6,476		41.87%		1,612		10.42%		12		0.08%		891		5.76%		15,467
	Jersey		3,806		46.81%		3,350		41.21%		971		11.94%		3		0.04%		456		5.60%		8,130
	Jo Daviess		5,563		59.13%		3,228		34.31%		607		6.45%		10		0.11%		2,335		24.82%		9,408
	Johnson		2,406		60.53%		1,143		28.75%		421		10.59%		5		0.13%		1,263		31.78%		3,975
	Kane		54,144		61.94%		26,609		30.44%		6,340		7.25%		327		0.37%		27,535		31.50%		87,420
	Kankakee		20,025		52.35%		14,460		37.80%		3,735		9.76%		30		0.08%		5,565		14.55%		38,250
	Kendall		7,184		70.45%		2,228		21.85%		780		7.65%		6		0.06%		4,956		48.60%		10,198
	Knox		14,216		53.86%		9,707		36.77%		2,394		9.07%		79		0.30%		4,509		17.09%		26,396
	Lake		68,999		56.60%		43,409		35.61%		8,738		7.17%		757		0.62%		25,590		20.99%		121,903
	LaSalle		26,054		50.48%		22,940		44.45%		2,590		5.02%		26		0.05%		3,114		6.03%		51,610
	Lawrence		4,883		54.58%		3,075		34.37%		972		10.87%		16		0.18%		1,808		20.21%		8,946
	Lee		9,598		62.92%		4,727		30.99%		925		6.06%		5		0.03%		4,871		31.93%		15,255
	Livingston		11,963		65.88%		5,234		28.82%		950		5.23%		13		0.07%		6,729		37.06%		18,160
	Logan		8,638		60.45%		4,552		31.86%		1,083		7.58%		16		0.11%		4,086		28.59%		14,289
	Macon		21,027		42.27%		23,369		46.98%		5,163		10.38%		182		0.37%		-2,342		-4.71%		49,741
	Macoupin		10,262		43.91%		10,750		46.00%		2,325		9.95%		31		0.13%		-488		-2.09%		23,368
	Madison		39,622		39.18%		46,384		45.87%		14,987		14.82%		136		0.13%		-6,762		-6.69%		101,129
	Marion		8,134		46.09%		7,737		43.84%		1,680		9.52%		98		0.56%		397		2.25%		17,649
	Marshall		3,897		58.36%		2,455		36.77%		313		4.69%		12		0.18%		1,442		21.59%		6,677
	Mason		3,899		49.65%		3,365		42.85%		572		7.28%		17		0.22%		534		6.80%		7,853
	Massac		3,578		55.51%		1,934		30.00%		926		14.37%		8		0.12%		1,644		25.51%		6,446
	McDonough		8,496		65.74%		3,785		29.29%		628		4.86%		15		0.12%		4,711		36.45%		12,924
	McHenry		27,245		66.15%		10,896		26.46%		2,701		6.56%		343		0.83%		16,349		39.69%		41,185
	McLean		22,284		59.22%		12,779		33.96%		2,351		6.25%		216		0.57%		9,505		25.26%		37,630
	Menard		2,980		59.66%		1,640		32.83%		372		7.45%		3		0.06%		1,340		26.83%		4,995
	Mercer		4,844		56.33%		3,143		36.55%		607		7.06%		6		0.07%		1,701		19.78%		8,600
	Monroe		5,086		55.48%		2,822		30.78%		1,253		13.67%		6		0.07%		2,264		24.70%		9,167
	Montgomery		7,547		46.19%		7,318		44.79%		1,468		8.98%		6		0.04%		229		1.40%		16,339
	Morgan		8,902		54.52%		6,281		38.47%		1,137		6.96%		7		0.04%		2,621		16.05%		16,327
	Moultrie		3,094		50.50%		2,447		39.94%		571		9.32%		15		0.24%		647		10.56%		6,127
	Ogle		12,168		68.98%		4,399		24.94%		1,060		6.01%		14		0.08%		7,769		44.04%		17,641
	Peoria		37,021		49.96%		30,937		41.75%		5,648		7.62%		499		0.67%		6,084		8.21%		74,105
	Perry		5,384		49.02%		4,449		40.51%		1,144		10.42%		6		0.05%		935		8.51%		10,983
	Piatt		3,973		56.28%		2,447		34.66%		636		9.01%		3		0.04%		1,526		21.62%		7,059
	Pike		5,035		50.66%		4,191		42.17%		697		7.01%		16		0.16%		844		8.49%		9,939
	Pope		1,307		57.63%		732		32.28%		226		9.96%		3		0.13%		575		25.35%		2,268
	Pulaski		1,741		37.59%		2,076		44.82%		815		17.59%		0		0.00%		-335		-7.23%		4,632
	Putnam		1,351		53.93%		988		39.44%		162		6.47%		4		0.16%		363		14.49%		2,505
	Randolph		7,681		50.37%		5,953		39.04%		1,607		10.54%		9		0.06%		1,728		11.33%		15,250
	Richland		4,781		58.76%		2,495		30.66%		853		10.48%		8		0.10%		2,286		28.10%		8,137
	Rock Island		30,404		43.35%		34,506		49.20%		5,054		7.21%		176		0.25%		-4,102		-5.85%		70,140
	Saline		6,913		49.92%		5,985		43.22%		939		6.78%		12		0.09%		928		6.70%		13,849
	Sangamon		36,510		50.02%		29,542		40.47%		6,586		9.02%		358		0.49%		6,968		9.55%		72,996
	Schuyler		2,760		60.00%		1,475		32.07%		346		7.52%		19		0.41%		1,285		27.93%		4,600
	Scott		1,971		55.55%		1,252		35.29%		325		9.16%		0		0.00%		719		20.26%		3,548
	Shelby		5,487		49.27%		4,528		40.66%		1,115		10.01%		7		0.06%		959		8.61%		11,137
	St. Clair		34,442		34.14%		50,726		50.29%		15,260		15.13%		446		0.44%		-16,284		-16.15%		100,874
	Stark		2,292		62.54%		1,128		30.78%		239		6.52%		6		0.16%		1,164		31.76%		3,665
	Stephenson		11,821		59.32%		7,040		35.33%		1,050		5.27%		17		0.09%		4,781		23.99%		19,928
	Tazewell		22,971		47.44%		20,712		42.77%		4,711		9.73%		28		0.06%		2,259		4.67%		48,422
	Union		3,889		46.45%		3,603		43.04%		871		10.40%		9		0.11%		286		3.41%		8,372
	Vermilion		21,391		49.26%		16,238		37.39%		5,726		13.19%		69		0.16%		5,153		11.87%		43,424
	Wabash		3,529		55.21%		2,244		35.11%		614		9.61%		5		0.08%		1,285		20.10%		6,392
	Warren		5,877		60.00%		3,085		31.50%		824		8.41%		9		0.09%		2,792		28.50%		9,795
	Washington		4,793		63.32%		2,093		27.65%		671		8.87%		12		0.16%		2,700		35.67%		7,569
	Wayne		5,532		59.59%		2,993		32.24%		745		8.02%		14		0.15%		2,539		27.35%		9,284
	White		5,351		53.77%		3,837		38.56%		761		7.65%		3		0.03%		1,514		15.21%		9,952
	Whiteside		15,177		61.86%		8,132		33.15%		1,179		4.81%		46		0.19%		7,045		28.71%		24,534
	Will		43,630		49.32%		31,576		35.70%		12,595		14.24%		659		0.74%		12,054		13.62%		88,460
	Williamson		11,886		50.39%		9,660		40.95%		2,031		8.61%		11		0.05%		2,226		9.44%		23,588
	Winnebago		47,646		52.51%		36,702		40.45%		6,176		6.81%		215		0.24%		10,944		12.06%		90,739
	Woodford		7,876		61.79%		4,005		31.42%		856		6.72%		10		0.08%		3,871		30.37%		12,747
Totals	2,174,774	47.08%	2,039,814	44.15%	390,958	8.46%	14,203	0.31%	134,960	2.93%	4,619,749

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Analysis

Republican candidate Richard Nixon won the state of Illinois by a narrow margin of 2.93%.^[14] The winning of Illinois was the moment that sealed a close and turbulent election for Nixon,^{[15] [16]} who in the last counting did much better in massively populated Cook County than Goldwater or Nixon himself in 1960.^[15]

Nixon won ninety of Illinois’ 102 counties, with Humphrey winning only Cook and St. Clair Counties with absolute majorities, although he carried several other Metro East and southern Illinois counties where he was helped by the backing of unions and a strong vote for Wallace taking much Nixon support. Wallace’s segregationism also went down very poorly in many cities of that latter urban region.^[17]

Nixon's victory was the first of six consecutive Republican victories in the state, as Illinois would not vote for a Democratic candidate again until Bill Clinton in 1992. Since then it has become a safely Democratic state. Nixon became the first ever Republican to win the White House without carrying Rock Island County, as well as the first to do so without carrying Macon County since Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the first to do so without carrying Pulaski County since Ulysses S. Grant in 1868, the first to do so without carrying Alexander or Cook Counties since Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, the first to do so without carrying Fulton County since Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and the first to do so without carrying Christian County since William Howard Taft in 1908.

Humphrey carried the city of Chicago with 874,113 votes to Nixon's 452,914 votes, while Wallace received 105, 655 votes in the city.^[18]

See also

• United States presidential elections in Illinois

Notes and References

1. Kleppner, Paul; The Evolution of American Electoral Systems, pp. 183, 201
2. Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 398-399
3. Edison, Jeffrey; ‘The Forgotten County: St. Clair County, Illinois, in 1968’ (thesis), p. 29. Published 2018 by Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
4. Edwards, Owen Dudley; ‘No Escape Route for Humphrey on All Those Nasty Issues’; The Irish Times, 21 August 1968, p. 5
5. Healy, Robert; ‘Politics: It’s Still too Early To Pick Winner’; The Boston Globe, September 8, 1968, p. 6A
6. Mergel, Sarah Katherine; ‘A Report Card for Richard Nixon: Conservative Intellectuals and the President’ (thesis), p. 66. Published by The George Washington University, 2007
7. Janson, Donald; ‘Humphrey Losing Illinois Support: Wallace, With Rally Slated for Tomorrow, Is Factor’; The New York Times, September 29, 1968, p. 69
8. ‘Electoral Vote: Nixon 359, HHH 46’; The Boston Globe, October 7, 1968, p. 24
9. Janson, Donald; ‘Humphrey and Wallace to Stage Rival Rallies Friday in Chicago’; The New York Times, October 30, 1968, p. 30
10. Web site: OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 5, 1968 JUDICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, JUNE, 11, 1972 . Illinois State Board of Elections . 26 June 2020 .
11. Web site: OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 4, 1986 . www.elections.il.gov . Illinois State Board of Elections . 10 April 2020 .
12. Book: Illinois Blue Book 1967-1968. Illinois Secretary of State . 884 . 30 March 2020.
13. Our Campaigns; IL US President 1968
14. Web site: 1968 Presidential General Election Results – Illinois. December 27, 2016.
15. Cooke, Alistair; ‘Illinois Dooms Humphrey’; The Guardian, 7 November 1968, p. 2
16. Vohra, H.R.; ‘Nixon Vote President: Close Race – Night-long suspense resolved by key State of Illinois’; The Times of India, 7 November 1968, p. 1
17. Edison; ‘The Forgotten County’, p. 110
18. News: November 30, 1968 . Official Vote Tally in City, Townships . July 30, 2024 . . Newspapers.com.