1982 Illinois gubernatorial election

Gubernatorial elections were held in Illinois on November 2, 1982. Republican candidate James R. Thompson won a third term in office, defeating Democrat Adlai Stevenson III by a slim margin of about 5,000 votes.

1982 Illinois gubernatorial election

November 2, 1982
Turnout	61.58% 7.35 pp
Nominee James R. Thompson Adlai Stevenson III Party Republican Democratic Running mate George Ryan Grace Mary Stern Popular vote 1,816,101 1,811,027 Percentage 49.4% 49.3%
County Results Thompson:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Stevenson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Governor before election James R. Thompson Republican Elected Governor James R. Thompson Republican

Election information

The election coincided with those for congress and those for other state offices. The election was part of the 1982 Illinois elections.

Turnout

Turnout in the primaries saw 22.42% in the gubernatorial primaries, with a total of 1,337,581 votes cast, and 20.25% in the lieutenant gubernatorial primary, with 1,208,178 votes cast.[1][2]

Turnout during the general election was 61.58%, with 3,673,707 votes cast.[1][3]

Allegations of fraud

Main article: 1982 Illinois elections § Allegations of fraud

The election result has been questioned. Some Democrats have alleged that fraud might have committed by Republicans in areas outside Chicago to secure Thompson his victory.[4] In 2016, Rudy Giuliani suggested that the gubernatorial results had been fraudulent on the part of Chicago Democrats.[5]

Democratic primary

Governor

Adlai Stevenson III, former United States Senator, won the primary for the gubernatorial nomination unopposed.

Democratic gubernatorial primary[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adlai E. Stevenson	731,041	99.99
	Write-in	Others	94	0.01
Total votes			731,135	100

Lieutenant Governor

Grace Mary Stern won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor unopposed.

Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Grace Mary Stern	588,942	99.98
	Write-in	Others	103	0.02
Total votes			589,045	100

Republican primary

Governor

Incumbent James R. Thompson defeated challengers John E. Roche and V. A. Kelley.

Republican gubernatorial primary[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James R. Thompson (incumbent)	507,893	83.75
	Republican	John E. Roche	54,858	9.05
	Republican	V. A. Kelley	43,627	7.19
	Write-in	Others	68	0.01
Total votes			606,446	100

Lieutenant Governor

George Ryan defeated Susan Catania and Donald L. Totten in the lieutenant gubernatorial primary.

Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George Ryan	278,544	44.99
	Republican	Susan Catania	188,220	30.40
	Republican	Donald L. Totten	152,356	24.61
	Write-in	Others	13	0.00
Total votes			619,133	100

General election

Before the election, Thompson had been favored by polls and predictions to win by roughly twenty percentage points.[6]

Thompson managed to prevail by a narrow 5,074 vote margin. Thompson won a clear majority of Illinois's 102 counties, but Stevenson won Cook County home of Chicago. Cook County accounts for more than 25% of the states total population. Thompson was most likely able to win narrowly, because he performed well in the Collar (Suburban) counties of Chicago, including, Will, Lake, and DuPage counties. Immediately following the election Stevenson filed a motion with the Illinois Supreme Court for a state paid recount. But his motion for a recount was denied by the panel by just one vote. Shortly after the court's decision Stevenson conceded defeat, and called Thompson to congratulate him on his victory.

1982 gubernatorial election, Illinois[1][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	James R. Thompson (incumbent)/ George E. Ryan	1,816,101	49.44
	Democratic	Adlai Stevenson III/ Grace Mary Stern	1,811,027	49.30
	Libertarian	Bea Armstrong/ David L. Kelley	24,417	0.66
	Taxpayers	John E. Roche/ Melvin "Mel" Jones	22,001	0.60
	N/A	write-ins	161	0.00	n-a
Majority			5,074	0.14
Turnout			3,673,707	61.58
	Republican hold		Swing

References

1. "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 6, 1984" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
2. "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL PRIMARY ELECTION MARCH 16, 1982" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
3. "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 2, 1982" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
4. "Election fraud Chicago style: Illinois' decades-old notoriety for election corruption is legendary". Salon. 14 February 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
5. "Official: Chicago legacy of voter fraud has been cleaned up". HeraldNet.com. 19 October 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
6. Times, Special to the New York (21 November 1982). "Stevenson Looking Forward to a Recount in Illinois". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2020.