Illinois gubernatorial election, 1972

Last updated April 09, 2019

A Gubernatorial election was held in Illinois on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican Governor Richard B. Ogilvie lost reelection to Democrat Dan Walker

Illinois is a state in the Midwestern and Great Lakes region of the United States. It has the fifth largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth largest population, and the 25th largest land area of all U.S. states. Illinois is often noted as a microcosm of the entire United States. With Chicago in northeastern Illinois, small industrial cities and immense agricultural productivity in the north and center of the state, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base, and is a major transportation hub. Chicagoland, Chicago's metropolitan area, encompasses over 65% of the state's population. The Port of Chicago connects the state to international ports via two main routes: from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois Waterway to the Illinois River. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois. For decades, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and, through the 1980s, in politics.

Richard B. Ogilvie U.S. politician, governor of Illinois

Richard Buell Ogilvie was the 35th governor of Illinois and served from 1969 to 1973. A wounded combat veteran of World War II, he became known as the mafia-fighting sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, in the 1960s before becoming governor.

Daniel J. "Dan" Walker was an American lawyer, businessman and Democratic politician from Illinois. He was the 36th Governor of Illinois from 1973 to 1977. He was raised in San Diego and served in the Navy as an enlisted man and officer during World War II and the Korean War. He moved to Illinois between the wars to attend Northwestern University School of Law and entered politics there in the 1960s.

Results

1972 gubernatorial election, Illinois^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Dan Walker	2,372,313	50.68	+2.31
	Republican	Richard B. Ogilvie (incumbent)	2,293,809	49.02	-2.19
	Socialist Labor	George LaForest	7,966	0.17	-0.26
	Communist	Ishmael Flory	4,592	0.10	N/A
	N/A	write-ins	1,373	0.03	N/A
Majority			77,494	1.66	-1.18
Turnout			4,679,043
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

Democratic Primary

The Primary was held on March 21, 1972. In an upset, Dan Walker won a close primary against then-Lt. Governor Paul Simon.

Paul Martin Simon was an American author and politician from Illinois. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985, and in the United States Senate from 1985 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, he unsuccessfully ran for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination.

1972 Democratic gubernatorial primary, Illinois^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Dan Walker	735,193	51.41	N/A
	Democratic	Paul Simon	694,900	48.59	N/A
Majority			40,923	2.82
Turnout			1,430,093

Republican Primary

The Republican primary was also held on March 21. Ogilvie won renomination easily. His main rival, John M. Mathis was a favorite son of the Peoria area, and fared poorly elsewhere.

Peoria is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, and the largest city on the Illinois River. Established in 1691 by the French explorer Henri de Tonti, Peoria is the oldest European settlement in Illinois, and is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007. The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 373,590 in 2011. Until 2018, Peoria was the global and national headquarters for Caterpillar Inc., one of the 30 companies composing the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and listed on the Fortune 100; in the latter year, the company relocated its headquarters to Deerfield, Illinois.

1972 Republican gubernatorial primary, Illinois^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Richard B. Ogilvie	442,323	75.54	N/A
	Republican	John M. Mathis	143,053	24.43	N/A
	Republican	write-ins	201	0.03	N/A
Majority			299,270	51.11
Turnout			585,577

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References

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[1] ttp://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=121502

[2] ttp://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=121624

[3] ttp://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=384833

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