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| Turnout | 73.51% | ||||||||||||||||
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 County results Dixon: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% O'Neal: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Illinois |
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The 1980 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Adlai Stevenson III decided to retire. Democrat Alan J. Dixon won the open seat.
The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal offices (President and House), as well as those for state offices. [1] [2]
Incumbent Democrat Adlai Stevenson III opted not to seek reelection to a third-term. This was the first open-race for this senate seat since 1938.
Turnout in the primary elections was 35.36%, with a total of 2,026,814 votes cast. [1] [3]
Turnout during the general election was 73.51%, with 4,579,933 votes cast. [2] [3]
Alan J. Dixon overwhelmingly won the Democratic primary.
Alex Seith, who had won the Democratic nomination for Senator two years earlier, almost winning the 1978 race in what would have been a major upset, laid hopes of capturing the nomination again.
Anthony R. Martin-Trigona, a political activist who had unsuccessfully sought the nomination for senate in 1978, again ran for the nomination.
Robert Ash "Bob" Wallace made use of his friendship with boxer Muhammad Ali, featuring him in campaign ads and having him make campaign appearances. [6] [7]
Dakin Williams was a prosecutor, and was the younger brother of famous playwright Tennessee Williams. [4] He had been a candidate for the Democratic nomination of Illinois' other US Senate seat in 1972, and had unsuccessfully sought the nomination for this seat in 1974. He had also been a candidate for governor in 1978. [5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alan J. Dixon | 671,746 | 66.88 | |
| Democratic | Alex Seith | 190,339 | 18.95 | |
| Democratic | Robert Ash "Bob" Wallace | 64,037 | 6.38 | |
| Democratic | Anthony R. Martin-Trigona | 39,711 | 3.95 | |
| Democratic | Dankin Williams | 38,388 | 3.82 | |
| Write-in | Others | 153 | 0.00 | |
| Total votes | 1,004,374 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | David C. O'Neal | 424,634 | 41.53 | |
| Republican | William J. Scott | 352,138 | 34.44 | |
| Republican | Dick Carver | 245,668 | 24.03 | |
| Write-in | Others | 141 | 0.00 | |
| Total votes | 1,022,440 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alan J. Dixon | 2,565,302 | 56.01% | |
| Republican | David C. O'Neal | 1,946,296 | 42.50% | |
| Libertarian | Bruce Green | 29,328 | 0.64% | |
| Independent | Sidney Lens | 19,213 | 0.42% | |
| Communist | Charles F. Wilson | 11,453 | 0.25% | |
| Workers World | Michael Soriano | 5,626 | 0.12% | |
| Socialist Workers | Burton Lee Artz | 2,715 | 0.06% | |
| Write-in | Others | 96 | 0.00% | |
| Total votes | 4,579,933 | 100 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Adlai Ewing Stevenson III was an American attorney and politician of the Democratic Party who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1970 to 1981. A member of the prominent Stevenson family, he also served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and Illinois Treasurer. He unsuccessfully ran for governor of Illinois in 1982 and 1986. He had been awarded Japan’s Order of the Sacred Treasure with gold and silver stars and was an honorary Professor of Renmin University, China.
The 1978 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies.
Alex Robert Seith was the 1978 Democratic nominee for the United States Senate from Illinois. A complete newcomer to electoral politics, he nearly pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Senate history when he narrowly lost to nationally renowned incumbent Republican Charles Percy by eight percentage points. According to Statistics of Congressional Election of November 7, 1978, the margin of defeat was 250,000 votes. Seith went to Yale University and Harvard Law School.
The 1992 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 3, 1992. Incumbent Senator Alan J. Dixon decided to run for re-election a third term, but he was defeated in the Democratic primary by Carol Moseley Braun, who won the general election. Until 2022, this was the last time a single party won Illinois's Class 3 Senate seat in two or more consecutive elections.
The 1984 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican Senator Charles H. Percy ran for re-election to a fourth term in the United States Senate. Senator Percy was opposed by Democratic nominee Paul Simon, who was a United States Congressman from Illinois's 22nd congressional district. The campaign between Percy and Simon was contentious and brutally fought, and ended up with Simon ousting Percy by fewer than 90,000 votes, which was, at the time, considered an upset. Incidentally, Percy's son-in-law Jay Rockefeller was elected Senator from West Virginia in the same election cycle.
The 1978 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Republican United States Senator Charles H. Percy ran for re-election to a third term in the United States Senate. Percy was opposed by Democratic nominee Alex Seith, an attorney who had been appointed to several local government positions.
The 1972 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican United States Senator Charles H. Percy sought re-election to the United States Senate. Percy was opposed by Democratic nominee Roman Pucinski, a United States Congressman from Illinois's 11th congressional district, whom he was able to defeat handily to win a second term. As of 2022, this was the last time a Republican was elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois during a presidential election year, the last time an Illinois Republican won a Senate election by double digits, and the last time any candidate has swept every county in the state. This election was the fourth consecutive time in which a United States Senate election in Illinois took place two years after a previous United States Senate election in Illinois after 1966, 1968 and 1970.
The 1986 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 4, 1986. The incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Alan J. Dixon won re-election to a second term. Until 2022, this was the most recent election in which an incumbent Senator won re-election to Illinois' Class 3 seat and was elected to more than one full term.
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 1990 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Governor James R. Thompson chose to retire instead of seeking reelection to a fifth term. Republican candidate Jim Edgar won his first of two terms in office, defeating Democrat Neil Hartigan by a narrow margin of about 80,000 votes. This election was the first open-seat gubernatorial election in Illinois since 1952.
The 1978 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 7, 1978. Republican James R. Thompson easily won a second term in office, defeating Democratic nominee Michael Bakalis by nearly 600,000 votes.
The 1970 United States Senate special election in Illinois was held on November 3, 1970 to fill the remainder of the term of Republican Everett Dirksen, who had died in office. Republican Ralph Tyler Smith had been appointed to fill the seat after Dirksen's death, and he lost the special election to Democrat Adlai Stevenson III. This election was the third consecutive time in which a United States Senate election in Illinois took place two years after a previous United States Senate election in Illinois after 1966 and 1968.
The 1974 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Adlai Stevenson III, who was first elected in a special election in 1970, was re-elected to a full term in office, defeating Republican George Burditt by a large margin of nearly 800,000 votes. This election was the fifth consecutive time in which a United States Senate election in Illinois took place two years after a previous United States Senate election in Illinois after 1966, 1968, 1970 and 1972.
Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 4, 1986.
Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 4, 1980.
Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 7, 1978.
Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 3, 1970.
Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 2, 1976.
Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 5, 1974.
Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 4, 1952.
