Politics of Illinois

The US state of Illinois is a Democratic stronghold and one of the "big three" Democratic states alongside California and New York.[1] It is considered one of the most Democratic states in the nation and following the 2018 elections, all six statewide elected offices are held by a Democrat.[1] However, there is a sharp division between Democratic cities, college towns, and population centers, and highly conservative rural regions, which continue to be dominated by Republicans, but are drowned out due to their relatively low population.

United States presidential election results for Illinois[2]
Year Republican / Whig Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 2,446,891 40.45% 3,471,915 57.39% 130,694 2.16%
2016 2,146,015 38.35% 3,090,729 55.24% 358,535 6.41%
2012 2,135,216 40.66% 3,019,512 57.50% 96,704 1.84%
2008 2,031,179 36.73% 3,419,348 61.83% 79,652 1.44%
2004 2,345,946 44.48% 2,891,550 54.82% 36,826 0.70%
2000 2,019,421 42.58% 2,589,026 54.60% 133,676 2.82%
1996 1,587,021 36.81% 2,341,744 54.32% 382,626 8.87%
1992 1,734,096 34.34% 2,453,350 48.58% 862,711 17.08%
1988 2,310,939 50.69% 2,215,940 48.60% 32,241 0.71%
1984 2,707,103 56.17% 2,086,499 43.30% 25,486 0.53%
1980 2,358,049 49.65% 1,981,413 41.72% 410,259 8.64%
1976 2,364,269 50.10% 2,271,295 48.13% 83,269 1.76%
1972 2,788,179 59.03% 1,913,472 40.51% 21,585 0.46%
1968 2,174,774 47.08% 2,039,814 44.15% 405,161 8.77%
1964 1,905,946 40.53% 2,796,833 59.47% 62 0.00%
1960 2,368,988 49.80% 2,377,846 49.98% 10,575 0.22%
1956 2,623,327 59.52% 1,775,682 40.29% 8,398 0.19%
1952 2,457,327 54.84% 2,013,920 44.94% 9,811 0.22%
1948 1,961,103 49.22% 1,994,715 50.07% 28,228 0.71%
1944 1,939,314 48.05% 2,079,479 51.52% 17,268 0.43%
1940 2,047,240 48.54% 2,149,934 50.97% 20,761 0.49%
1936 1,570,393 39.69% 2,282,999 57.70% 103,130 2.61%
1932 1,432,756 42.04% 1,882,304 55.23% 92,866 2.73%
1928 1,769,141 56.93% 1,313,817 42.28% 24,531 0.79%
1924 1,453,321 58.84% 576,975 23.36% 439,771 17.80%
1920 1,420,480 67.81% 534,395 25.51% 139,839 6.68%
1916 1,152,549 52.56% 950,229 43.34% 89,929 4.10%
1912 253,593 22.13% 405,048 35.34% 487,532 42.54%
1908 629,932 54.53% 450,810 39.02% 74,512 6.45%
1904 632,645 58.77% 327,606 30.43% 116,248 10.80%
1900 597,985 52.83% 503,061 44.44% 30,851 2.73%
1896 607,130 55.66% 465,613 42.68% 18,126 1.66%
1892 399,288 45.70% 426,281 48.79% 48,078 5.50%
1888 370,475 49.54% 348,351 46.58% 28,987 3.88%
1884 337,469 50.17% 312,351 46.43% 22,850 3.40%
1880 318,036 51.11% 277,321 44.56% 26,948 4.33%
1876 278,232 50.20% 258,611 46.66% 17,384 3.14%
1872 241,936 56.27% 184,884 43.00% 3,151 0.73%
1868 250,304 55.69% 199,116 44.31% 0 0.00%
1864 189,512 54.42% 158,724 45.58% 0 0.00%
1860 172,171 50.69% 160,215 47.17% 7,280 2.14%
1856 96,275 40.23% 105,528 44.09% 37,531 15.68%
1852 64,733 41.77% 80,378 51.87% 9,863 6.36%
1848 52,853 42.42% 55,952 44.91% 15,791 12.67%
1844 45,854 42.05% 58,795 53.91% 4,408 4.04%
1840 45,574 48.91% 47,441 50.92% 160 0.17%
1836 15,220 45.31% 18,369 54.69% 0 0.00%

Historically, Illinois was a critical swing state leaning marginally towards the Republican Party.[3] Between its admission into the Union and 1996, it voted for the losing candidate just six times - in 1824, 1840, 1848, 1884, 1916, and 1976. However, following Bill Clinton's election in 1992, and his victory in Illinois, the state has been realigned in favor of Democratic candidates for president, with eight consecutive wins by that party, regardless of the national outcome. In 2000, George W. Bush became the first Republican to win the presidency without the state.

Traditionally, Chicago, East Saint Louis, and the Quad Cities region have tended to vote heavily Democratic, along with the Central Illinois population centers of Peoria, Champaign-Urbana and Decatur. In recent years, Chicago's suburban collar counties continue to trend Democratic as well, contributing to the end of its swing state status, even as rural areas became even more heavily Republican.[4]

Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, was elected as Illinois' Governor in 2002, the first Democrat elected since 1972. Blagojevich was re-elected in 2006, defeating Republican State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka. However, in 2009, Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office due to charges that he abused his power while in office. Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn succeeded him. Following Quinn's election to a full term outright in 2010, the state elected in 2014 Bruce Rauner, the first Republican chief executive in twelve years. Following the 2018 elections, J. B. Pritzker became the state's current Democratic governor.

Statewide elected officials

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See also: Government of Illinois § Statewide offices
Office Officeholder Party Took office
Governor J. B. Pritzker Democratic 2019
Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton Democratic 2019
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias Democratic 2023
Attorney General Kwame Raoul Democratic 2019
Comptroller Susana Mendoza Democratic 2016
Treasurer Mike Frerichs Democratic 2015
U.S. Senator (Class II) Dick Durbin Democratic 1997
U.S. Senator (Class III) Tammy Duckworth Democratic 2017

Voter registration

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As of October 2016, Illinois had nearly 8 million active, registered voters.[5]

Federal representation

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Illinois currently has 17 House districts. In the 118th Congress, 14 of Illinois's seats are held by Democrats and 3 are held by Republicans:

Illinois's two United States senators are Democrats Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, serving since 1997 and 2017, respectively.

Illinois is part of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois in the federal judiciary. The district's cases are appealed to the Chicago-based United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Illinois: The Most Democratic State". NBC Chicago.
  2. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Presidential General Election Results Comparison - Illinois". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  3. ^ "The Last Time Illinois Was a Battleground State". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  4. ^ "Dem's Downstate losses offset in Collar Counties". Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Illinois has highest number of registered voters since 1970". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
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