1940 Illinois gubernatorial elections

1940 Illinois gubernatorial election
	County results ; Green: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Hershey: 50–60% 60–70%
Governor before election; Henry Horner (before primary); Democratic; John Henry Stelle; (before general election); Democratic;	Elected Governor ; Dwight H. Green; Republican

Before the primary, incumbent governor Henry Horner, a Democrat, opted not to seek a third term. In October, before the general election, his death in office made John Henry Stelle assume the governorship. However, Stelle had previously failed to win the Democratic nomination in the primary.

Republican Dwight H. Green won the election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Harry B. Hershey, former mayor of Taylorville
Albert Lagerstedt, former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives^[1]^[2] and unsuccessful candidate for Democratic nomination in 1938 United States Senate election in Illinois
Robert W. McKinlay
James O. Monroe
John H. Stelle, incumbent lieutenant governor of Illinois

Results

Gubernatorial Democratic primary^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harry B. Hershey	815,604	59.73
	Democratic	John H. Stelle	484,454	35.48
	Democratic	Robert W. McKinlay	27,593	2.02
	Democratic	James O. Monroe	24,862	1.82
	Democratic	Albert Lagerstedt	12,925	0.95
	Write-in	Others	2	0.00
Total votes			1,365,440	100

Republican primary

Candidates

Dwight H. Green, Republican nominee for mayor of Chicago in 1939
Richard J. Lyons, former Illinois state representative

Gubernatorial Republican primary^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dwight H. Green	610,025	57.14
	Republican	Richard J. Lyons	457,643	42.86
Total votes			1,067,668	100

General election

Gubernatorial election^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dwight H. Green	2,197,778	52.93
	Democratic	Harry B. Hershey	1,940,833	46.74
	Socialist Labor	Arthur G. McDowell	7,523	0.18
	Prohibition	Clay Freeman Gaumer	6,467	0.16
Total votes			4,152,622	100

References

^ Smith, Harold (February 15, 1942). "Hopes of GOP Run High in Congress Race". Chicago Tribune – via ProQuest. He is Albert Lagerstedt, 25 West Ontario Street, an independent candidate for governor in the 1940 primary. Before coming to Chicago about ten years ago, Lagerstedt had been a congressman from Minnesota from 1922 to 1928.
^ "Lagerstedt, Albert". Minnesota Legislators Past & Present. Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION, NOV. 5, 1940 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1939–1940 PRIMARY ELECTION General Primary, APRIL 9, 1940" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2020.

[1] Smith, Harold (February 15, 1942). "Hopes of GOP Run High in Congress Race". Chicago Tribune – via ProQuest. He is Albert Lagerstedt, 25 West Ontario Street, an independent candidate for governor in the 1940 primary. Before coming to Chicago about ten years ago, Lagerstedt had been a congressman from Minnesota from 1922 to 1928.

[2] "Lagerstedt, Albert". Minnesota Legislators Past & Present. Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2025.

[results-3] "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION, NOV. 5, 1940 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1939–1940 PRIMARY ELECTION General Primary, APRIL 9, 1940" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2020.

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