1940 Illinois gubernatorial election

1940 Illinois gubernatorial election

←  1936 November 5, 1940 1944  →

Nominee Dwight H. Green Harry B. Hershey Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,197,778 1,940,833 Percentage 52.93% 46.74%

County results Green:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Hershey:     50–60%     60–70%

Governor before election John Henry Stelle [a] Democratic Elected Governor Dwight H. Green Republican

The 1940 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1940.

Before the primary, incumbent governor Henry Horner, a Democrat, opted not to seek a third term. In October, before the general election, his death in office made John Henry Stelle assume the governorship. However, Stelle had previously failed to win the Democratic nomination in the primary.

Republican former Attorney Dwight H. Green won the election, defeating his Democratic opponent, former Mayor of Taylorville Harry B. Hershey, with 52.93% of the vote.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Harry B. Hershey, former mayor of Taylorville
• Albert Lagerstedt, former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives ^{[1] [2]} and unsuccessful candidate for Democratic nomination in 1938 United States Senate election in Illinois
• Robert W. McKinlay
• James O. Monroe
• John H. Stelle, incumbent lieutenant governor of Illinois

Results

Gubernatorial Democratic primary ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harry B. Hershey	815,604	59.73
	Democratic	John H. Stelle	484,454	35.48
	Democratic	Robert W. McKinlay	27,593	2.02
	Democratic	James O. Monroe	24,862	1.82
	Democratic	Albert Lagerstedt	12,925	0.95
	Write-in		2	0.00
Total votes			1,365,440	100

Republican primary

Candidates

• Dwight H. Green, Republican nominee for mayor of Chicago in 1939
• Richard J. Lyons, former Illinois state representative

Gubernatorial Republican primary ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dwight H. Green	610,025	57.14
	Republican	Richard J. Lyons	457,643	42.86
Total votes			1,067,668	100

General election

Gubernatorial election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dwight H. Green	2,197,778	52.93
	Democratic	Harry B. Hershey	1,940,833	46.74
	Socialist Labor	Arthur G. McDowell	7,523	0.18
	Prohibition	Clay Freeman Gaumer	6,467	0.16
Total votes			4,152,622	100

Notes and References

1. Smith, Harold (February 15, 1942). "Hopes of GOP Run High in Congress Race". Chicago Tribune . He is Albert Lagerstedt, 25 West Ontario Street, an independent candidate for governor in the 1940 primary. Before coming to Chicago about ten years ago, Lagerstedt had been a congressman from Minnesota from 1922 to 1928.
2. "Lagerstedt, Albert". Minnesota Legislators Past & Present. Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
3. "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION, NOV. 5, 1940 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1939–1940 PRIMARY ELECTION General Primary, APRIL 9, 1940" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2020.

1. Lieutenant Governor Stelle assumed office as Governor after the death of Governor Henry Horner in October 1940, less than a month before the election. Stelle had lost the Democratic primary for Governor earlier that year.