1952 Illinois gubernatorial election

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

1952 Illinois gubernatorial election

← 1948 November 4, 1952 1956 →
Turnout83.26%[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

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

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Gubernatorial Democratic primary[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Adlai E. Stevenson (incumbent) 708,275 99.97
Write-in Others 213 0.03
Total votes 708,488 100

Republican primary

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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 Others 67 0.01
Total votes 1,276,267 100

General election

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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 Others 3 0.00
Total votes 4,415,864 100

References

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  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. ^ a b 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.