1936 Illinois elections

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 3, 1936.

Primaries were held April 14, 1936.

The elections overall saw a strong performance by the Democratic Party.

Democrats retained their control of both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly and all statewide executive offices, winning all the statewide executive offices by broad margins. Democrats swept the election for University of Illinois trustees. Democrats also carried the state in the presidential election. Democratic United States senator J. Hamilton Lewis was reelected. Democrats retained all 21 U.S. congressional seats they held in the state, while Republicans retained all 6 seats they held.

Turnout
In the primaries, 2,674,613 ballots were cast (1,597,418 Democratic and 1,077,195 Republican).

In the general election, 3,995,088 ballots were cast.

United States President
Illinois voted for the Democratic ticket of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner.

United States Senate
Democrat J. Hamilton Lewis won reelection to a second consecutive, and third overall, term in the United States Senate.

United States House
All 27 Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1936.

No seats switched parties. The partisan makeup of the state's United States House of Representatives delegation remained 21 Democrats and 6 Republicans.

Governor
Incumbent first-term governor Henry Horner, a Democrat, won reelection.

Democratic primary
The Chicago political machine unsuccessfully ran Chicago Board of Health president Herman Bundesen against the incumbent Henry Horner in retribution for Horner having vetoed a bill that would have allowed bookies to legally operate, a bill favored by Chicago political bosses such as Edward J. Kelly.

Candidates

 * Herman Bundesen, Chicago Board of Health president and Chicago health commissioner, former Cook County coroner
 * Henry Horner, incumbent governor
 * James Fred Robertson, 1934 U.S. congress candidate and 1935 Chicago mayoral candidate

Candidates

 * C. Wayland Brooks
 * Oscar E. Carlstrom, former Illinois attorney general
 * George W. Dowell, Progressive nominee for Illinois's 25th congressional district in 1914
 * Thomas P. Gunning, Illinois state senator
 * J. Paul Kuhn
 * John G. Oglesby, former lieutenant governor of Illinois (publicly withdrew before primary)
 * Len Small, former governor of Illinois

General election
Challenging both Democratic nominee Henry Horner and Republican nominee Charles W. Brooks, Republican former Chicago mayor William Hale Thompson ran on the Union Progressive Party of Illinois' ballot line. There were also several other minor candidates.

Lieutenant governor
Incumbent first-term lieutenant governor Thomas Donovan, a Democrat, did not seek reelection. Democrat John Henry Stelle was elected to succeed him.

Candidates

 * John Edward Cassidy, attorney
 * Isaac Epstein
 * John Henry Stelle, Illinois treasurer
 * John L. McCormack

Candidates

 * John V. Clinnin
 * Harry F. Hamlin
 * George Hatzenbuhler
 * James A. McCallum
 * Theodore D. Smith
 * A. Lincoln Wisler

Attorney general
Incumbent first-term Attorney General Otto Kerner Sr., a Democrat, was reelected.

Republican primary
No candidates ran in the Republican primary. The party ultimately nominated Charles W. Hadley, who had been the distant runner-up in the Democratic primary.

Secretary of State
Incumbent first-term Democratic Secretary of State Edward J. Hughes, a Democrat, was reelected.

Hughes faced Republican former secretary of state William J. Stratton in a rematch of the 1932 race.

Auditor of Public Accounts
Incumbent first-term Auditor of Public Accounts Edward J. Barrett, a Democrat, was reelected.

Republican primary
State senator Arthur J. Bidwill won the Republican nomination, defeating, among others, fellow state senator Earle Benjamin Searcy.

Treasurer
Incumbent first-term Treasurer John Henry Stelle, a Democrat, did not seek reelection, instead running for lieutenant governor. Democrat John C. Martin was elected to succeed him in office, granting Martin a second nonconsecutive term as Illinois Treasurer.

Democratic primary
Former Illinois Treasurer, John C. Martin, won the Democratic primary.

Republican primary
Former Illinois state senator Clarence F. Buck won the Republican nomination defeating businessman Anton J. Johnson, former U.S. congressman and former Illinois Treasurer Edward E. Miller, among others.

State Senate
Seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1940. Democrats retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives
Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1940. Democrats retained control of the chamber. Cumulative voting and 59 three-seat districts were used in this election. Member(s) of both of the two main parties were elected in each district.

Trustees of University of Illinois
An election was held for three of the nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois to six year terms. Democrats swept all three seats.

All three incumbents whose terms were expiring (second-term Republican George A. Barr, first-term Republican Edward E. Barrett, and first-term Democrat Walter W. Winslow) were not nominated for reelection.

New Democratic members Homer Mat Adams, James Mansfield Cleary, and Louis C. Moschel were elected.

Supreme Court
One seat on the Illinois Supreme Court had an election on June 1, 1936.

5th district election
Republican Clyde E. Stone was reelected.

Circuit Courts
Several special elections were held November 3, 1936 for the Illinois Circuit Courts.

Robert J. Dunne was defeated John F. Tyrrell (1,157,312 votes to 709,625 votes) in a nonpartisan race to fill the vacancy left on the Circuit Court of Cook County by the resignation of fellow Democrat Francis S. Wilson.

Democratic nominee Grendel F. Bennett defeated Republican nominee V. W. McIntire (50,216 votes to 42,026 votes) to fill the 5th district vacancy left by the resignation of Craig Van Meter.

Democratic nominee Horace H. Baker defeated Republican nominee Lester H. Martin (43,987 votes to 43,877 votes) to fill the 11th district vacancy left by death of Peter Murphy.

Democratic nominee Francis J. Coyle defeated Republican nominee Albert M. Crampton (51,609 votes to 50,163 votes) to fill the 14th district vacancy left by death of J. Paul Califf.

Despite dying before the election, Republican nominee William J. Emerson defeated Democratic nominee James B. Sheean (38,712 votes to 30,184 votes) to fill the 15th district vacancy left by death of Frank T. Sheean.

Local elections
Local elections were held.