The lieutenant governor of Illinois is the second highest executive of the State of Illinois. In Illinois, the lieutenant governor and governor run on a joint ticket and are directly elected by popular vote. Gubernatorial candidates select their running mates when filing for office and appear on the primary election ballot together. When the governor of Illinois becomes unable to discharge the duties of that office, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor. If the governor dies, resigns or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor. Under the Illinois Constitution, the Attorney General is next in line of succession to the Governor's office after the lieutenant governor, but does not succeed to the lieutenant governor's office. From the impeachment of Rod Blagojevich in 2009, until the inauguration of Sheila Simon in 2011, Attorney General Lisa Madigan would have become governor if Pat Quinn had vacated the office. Historically, the lieutenant governor has been from either the Democratic Party or Republican Party. The current lieutenant governor is Democrat Juliana Stratton.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 7, 2000, in 11 states and two territories. The elections coincided with the presidential election. Democrats gained one seat by defeating an incumbent in West Virginia. As of 2024, this remains the last gubernatorial cycle in which a Democrat won in Indiana.
Illinois is a Democratic stronghold in presidential elections and one of the "Big Three" Democratic strongholds alongside California and New York. It is one of the most Democratic states in the nation with all state executive offices and both state legislative branches held by Democrats. For most of its history, Illinois was widely considered to be a swing state, voting for the winner of all but two presidential elections in the 20th century. Political party strength in Illinois is highly dependent upon Cook County, and the state's reputation as a blue state rests upon the fact that over 40% of its population and political power is concentrated in Chicago, Cook County, and the Chicago metropolitan area. Outside of Chicago, the suburban collar counties continue trending Democratic while downstate Illinois can be considered more conservative with several Democratic leaning regions including Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington-Normal, Rockford, Peoria, the Quad Cities, and suburban St. Louis.
The 2010 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor Pat Quinn was elected to a full term in office, having become governor in 2009 following the impeachment and removal of Governor Rod Blagojevich. Quinn was elected as the Democratic nominee, the Illinois Green Party nominee was attorney and 2006 nominee Rich Whitney, the Republican nominee was State Senator Bill Brady, the Libertarian Party nominee was Lex Green, and Scott Lee Cohen ran as an independent.
The 1994 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Republican Governor Jim Edgar won reelection in the largest landslide in over a century, after the elections of 1818 and 1848.
The 1998 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican Governor Jim Edgar did not run for a third term in office. Republican nominee George Ryan, the Illinois Secretary of State, narrowly won the election against Democratic Congressman Glenn Poshard.
The 1986 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1986. Republican candidate James R. Thompson won a fourth term in office, defeating the Illinois Solidarity Party nominee, former United States Senator Adlai Stevenson III, by around 400,000 votes.
The 2014 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor of South Carolina, concurrently with the regularly-scheduled election and special election to both of South Carolina's U.S. Senate seats, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 1990 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990 to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Illinois. The incumbent Governor Jim Thompson chose to retire instead of seeking reelection to a fifth term. The Republican nominee, Secretary of State Jim Edgar, narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee, Attorney General Neil Hartigan, by about 80,000 votes out of the over 3.2 million cast.
The 1972 Illinois gubernatorial election was held in Illinois on November 7, 1972. Incumbent first-term Republican governor Richard B. Ogilvie lost reelection in an upset to the Democratic nominee, Dan Walker.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 8, 2022, in 36 states and three territories. As most governors serve four-year terms, the last regular gubernatorial elections for all but two of the seats took place in the 2018 U.S. gubernatorial elections. The gubernatorial elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections, as part of the 2022 midterm elections.
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.
The 1928 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1928. Incumbent two-term Republican Governor Len Small was defeated in the Republican primary. Republican nominee Louis Lincoln Emmerson defeated Democratic nominee Floyd E. Thompson with 56.76% of the vote.
The 1932 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1932. Democratic nominee Henry Horner defeated Republican nominee and former Governor Len Small with 57.62% of the vote.
The 1920 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1920.
The 1924 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1924. Incumbent first-term Republican Governor Len Small defeated Democratic nominee Norman L. Jones with 56.72% of the vote.
The 1884 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1884.
The 1924 Illinois lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1924. Incumbent Republican Lieutenant Governor Fred E. Sterling won a landslide reelection.
The 1928 Illinois lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1928. Incumbent Republican lieutenant governor Fred E. Sterling was reelected to a third consecutive term.
The 1880 Illinois lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on 2 November 1880 in order to elect the lieutenant governor of Illinois. Republican nominee John Marshall Hamilton defeated Democratic nominee and incumbent member of the Illinois Senate Lewis Baldwin Parsons and Greenback nominee Andrew Blainey Adair.
