1952 Illinois gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1952 United States gubernatorial elections.

1952 Illinois gubernatorial election

←  1948 November 4, 1952 1956  →
Turnout	83.26% [1] [2]
Nominee William Stratton Sherwood Dixon Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,317,363 2,089,721 Percentage 52.48% 47.32%
County results Stratton:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80% Dixon:     50–60%     60–70%
Governor before election Adlai Stevenson II Democratic Elected Governor William Stratton Republican

The 1952 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1952.

Incumbent Governor Adlai Stevenson II, a Democrat, ultimately did not seek a second term, instead opting to run as his party's nominee for President of the United States. Republican William Stratton was elected to succeed him in office.

Before receiving the Democratic presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention, Stevenson had been running for reelection as governor, even winning the Democratic primary. He was replaced as Democratic nominee for Governor by Lieutenant Governor Sherwood Dixon.

Stratton was considered to have ridden the coattails of Dwight D. Eisenhower's landslide victory in the state in the presidential election. ^{[3] [4]} After being elected, at the age of 38, Stratton became the youngest governor in the country, and the youngest to have served as governor of Illinois in seven decades. ^[5]

The primaries and general election both coincided with those for federal offices (United States President and House, and those for other state offices. The election was part of the 1952 Illinois elections.

Democratic primary

Gubernatorial Democratic primary ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adlai E. Stevenson (incumbent)	708,275	99.97
	Write-in		213	0.03
Total votes			708,488	100

Republican primary

Gubernatorial Republican primary ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William G. Stratton	716,300	56.13
	Republican	Park Livingston	249,852	19.58
	Republican	Richard Yates Rowe	226,444	17.74
	Republican	William N. Erickson	68,851	5.40
	Republican	Anthony A. Polley	14,753	1.16
	Write-in		67	0.01
Total votes			1,276,267	100

General election

Gubernatorial election ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William G. Stratton	2,317,363	52.48
	Democratic	Sherwood Dixon	2,089,721	47.32
	Socialist Labor	Louis Fisher	8,777	0.20
	Write-in		3	0.00
Total votes			4,415,864	100

References

1. "OFFICIAL VOTE of the STATE OF ILLINOIS Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION, NOVEMBER 4, 1952 JUDICIAL ELECTION, 1951 • PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, APRIL 8 1952" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 11, 2020.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
2. "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 2, 1982" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 4, 2020.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
3. "Former Illinois Governor William G. Stratton dies at 86". The Quad-City Times. Associated Press. March 3, 2001. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
4. "William G. Stratton Collection · Chronicling Illinois". alplm-cdi.com. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
5. "Gov. William G. Stratton (R-Morris): "Good government is good politics."". www.thecaucusblog.com. Illinois House Republicans. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
6. Illinois Blue Book 1951-1952. Illinois Secretary of State. pp. 757–758. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
7. Illinois Blue Book 1953-1954. Illinois Secretary of State. pp. 823–24. Retrieved March 31, 2020.