The 1968 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 5, 1968[1] to elect one of Illinois's members to the United States Senate. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator and Minority Leader Everett Dirksen won re-election to his fourth term.
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| Turnout | 78.39% | ||||||||||||||||
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 County results Dirksen: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Clark: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Election information
The primaries and general election coincided with those for other federal (United States president and House) and those for state elections.
Primaries were held on June 11.[1][2]
Turnout
Turnout in the primary elections was 23.90%, with a total of 1,303,375 votes cast.[1][3]
Turnout during the general election was 78.39%, with 4,449,757 votes cast.[1]
Democratic primary
Illinois Attorney General William G. Clark won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William G. Clark | 627,361 | 99.97 | |
| Write-in | Others | 218 | 0.04 | |
| Total votes | 627,579 | 100 | ||
Republican primary
Incumbent U.S. Senator, and Senate Minority Leader, Everett M. Dirksen, won renomination over Roy C. Johnson.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Everett McKinley Dirksen (incumbent) | 622,710 | 92.15 | |
| Republican | Roy C. Johnson | 53,069 | 7.85 | |
| Write-in | Others | 17 | 0.00 | |
| Total votes | 675,796 | 100 | ||
General election
Results
Dirksen carried 99 of the state's 102 counties.[1] Clark, however, carried the state's most populous county, Cook County, taking 54.07% of the vote, to Dirksen's 45.52%.[1] Since Cook County was home to 50.65% of the votes cast in the election, the final result of the election was close, despite Dirksen winning a landslide 60.70% of the vote to Clark's 38.92% in the other 101 counties of the state.[1]
Additionally, in Cook County's principal city, Chicago (from which 31.02% of all statewide ballots were cast), Clark won 63.90% of the vote to Dirksen's 35.58%.[1] Clark's majority in Chicago and Cook County was insufficient to roll back Dirksen's large majorities in the Chicago suburbs and Downstate.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Everett M. Dirksen (incumbent) | 2,358,947 | 53.01 | |
| Democratic | William G. Clark | 2,073,242 | 46.59 | |
| Socialist Labor | Louis Fisher | 17,542 | 0.39 | |
| Write-in | Others | 26 | 0.00 | |
| Total votes | 4,449,757 | 100.00 | ||