1960 United States presidential election in Illinois

The 1960 United States presidential election in Illinois took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. State voters chose 27[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1960 United States presidential election in Illinois

← 1956 November 8, 1960[1] 1964 →
Turnout86.51%
 
Nominee John F. Kennedy Richard Nixon
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Massachusetts California
Running mate Lyndon B. Johnson Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
Electoral vote 27 0
Popular vote 2,377,846 2,368,988
Percentage 49.98% 49.80%

County results

President before election

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican

Elected President

John F. Kennedy
Democratic

In the nation's second-closest race following Hawaii, Illinois was won by Senator John F. Kennedy (DMassachusetts), running with Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, with 49.98% of the popular vote against incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon (RCalifornia), running with former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., with 49.80% of the popular vote, a margin of victory of only 0.18%.[3][4] This was the last time that a Democrat would win Illinois by only a single digit margin of victory until Kamala Harris’ 8.6% margin of victory in 2024.

Primaries

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Turnout

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Turnout in the state-run primary elections (Democratic and Republican) was 16.43% with a total of 836,458 votes cast.[5][6]

Turnout during the general election was 86.51%, with 4,757,409 votes cast.[6][7] Both major parties held non-binding state-run preferential primaries on April 12.[5][8]

Democratic

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1960 Illinois Democratic presidential primary
 
← 1956 April 12, 1960 (1960-04-12) 1964 →
       
Candidate John F. Kennedy Adlai Stevenson II Stuart Symington
Home state Massachusetts Illinois Missouri
Popular vote 34,332 8,029 5,744
Percentage 64.57% 15.10% 10.80%

   
Candidate Hubert Humphrey
Home state Minnesota
Popular vote 4,283
Percentage 8.06%

The 1960 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on April 12, 1960, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Democratic Party's state primaries ahead of the 1960 presidential election.

The popular vote was a non-binding "beauty contest".[9] Delegates were instead elected by direct votes by congressional district on delegate candidates.[8][10]

All candidates were write-ins. Kennedy ran a write-in campaign, and no candidate actively ran against him in Illinois.[9]

Not all of the vote-getters had been declared candidates. Johnson, Stevenson, and Symington had all sat out the primaries.

Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley, head of the Cook County Democratic Party, promised to deliver Kennedy the support of Cook County's delegates, so long as Kennedy won competitive primaries in other states.[9]

1960 Illinois Democratic presidential primary[5][8][11]
Candidate Votes Percentage
John F. Kennedy (write-in) 34,332 64.57%
Adlai Stevenson (write-in) 8,029 15.10%
Stuart Symington (write-in) 5,744 10.80%
Hubert Humphrey (write-in) 4,283 8.06%
Lyndon B. Johnson (write-in) 442 0.83%
Others 337 0.63%
Totals 53,167 100.00%

Republican

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1960 Illinois Republican presidential primary
 
← 1956 April 12, 1960 (1960-04-12) 1964 →
   
Candidate Richard Nixon
Home state California
Popular vote 782,849
Percentage 99.94%

The 1960 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on April 12, 1960, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 1960 presidential election.

The preference vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct-vote in each congressional district on delegate candidates.[8][10]

Nixon ran unopposed in the primary.

1960 Illinois Republican presidential primary[5][8][11]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Republican Richard Nixon 782,849 99.94%
Write-in Others 442 0.1%
Totals 783,291 100.00%

Results

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1960 United States presidential election in Illinois[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John F. Kennedy 2,377,846 49.98%
Republican Richard Nixon 2,368,988 49.80%
Socialist Labor Eric Hass 10,560 0.22%
Write-in 15 0.00%
Total votes 4,757,409 100%

Results by county

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County John F. Kennedy
Democratic
Richard Nixon
Republican
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Adams 14,827 44.22% 18,674 55.70% 28 0.08% -3,847 -11.48% 33,529
Alexander 4,477 51.83% 4,143 47.96% 18 0.21% 334 3.87% 8,638
Bond 2,856 39.88% 4,297 60.00% 9 0.13% -1,441 -20.12% 7,162
Boone 2,605 28.43% 6,552 71.51% 5 0.05% -3,947 -43.08% 9,162
Brown 1,849 49.44% 1,889 50.51% 2 0.05% -40 -1.07% 3,740
Bureau 7,786 38.15% 12,597 61.73% 24 0.12% -4,811 -23.58% 20,407
Calhoun 1,608 49.22% 1,654 50.63% 5 0.15% -46 -1.41% 3,267
Carroll 3,097 32.88% 6,282 66.70% 39 0.41% -3,185 -33.82% 9,418
Cass 3,692 47.85% 4,015 52.04% 8 0.10% -323 -4.19% 7,715
Champaign 17,115 37.66% 27,793 61.16% 533 1.17% -10,678 -23.50% 45,441
Christian 10,207 52.38% 9,263 47.54% 15 0.08% 944 4.84% 19,485
Clark 3,949 42.59% 5,319 57.36% 5 0.05% -1,370 -14.77% 9,273
Clay 3,394 39.75% 5,134 60.13% 10 0.12% -1,740 -20.38% 8,538
Clinton 6,188 51.99% 5,709 47.96% 6 0.05% 479 4.03% 11,903
Coles 8,629 41.46% 12,166 58.45% 19 0.09% -3,537 -16.99% 20,814
Cook 1,378,343 56.37% 1,059,607 43.33% 7,319 0.30% 318,736 13.04% 2,445,269
Crawford 4,245 38.39% 6,809 61.58% 4 0.04% -2,564 -23.19% 11,058
Cumberland 2,475 45.00% 3,020 54.91% 5 0.09% -545 -9.91% 5,500
DeKalb 6,783 30.30% 15,586 69.62% 19 0.08% -8,803 -39.32% 22,388
DeWitt 3,607 41.51% 5,074 58.40% 8 0.09% -1,467 -16.89% 8,689
Douglas 3,532 37.98% 5,761 61.95% 6 0.06% -2,229 -23.97% 9,299
DuPage 44,263 30.43% 101,014 69.45% 168 0.12% -56,751 -39.02% 145,445
Edgar 5,024 40.59% 7,348 59.37% 4 0.03% -2,324 -18.78% 12,376
Edwards 1,446 30.47% 3,291 69.36% 8 0.17% -1,845 -38.89% 4,745
Effingham 5,676 46.94% 6,410 53.01% 6 0.05% -734 -6.07% 12,092
Fayette 4,907 42.65% 6,586 57.25% 11 0.10% -1,679 -14.60% 11,504
Ford 2,698 31.82% 5,779 68.16% 1 0.01% -3,081 -36.34% 8,478
Franklin 11,368 48.86% 11,861 50.98% 37 0.16% -493 -2.12% 23,266
Fulton 10,194 45.81% 11,999 53.93% 58 0.26% -1,805 -8.12% 22,251
Gallatin 2,386 52.21% 2,179 47.68% 5 0.11% 207 4.53% 4,570
Greene 3,847 46.10% 4,487 53.78% 10 0.12% -640 -7.68% 8,344
Grundy 4,276 38.08% 6,948 61.88% 4 0.04% -2,672 -23.80% 11,228
Hamilton 2,639 40.89% 3,804 58.94% 11 0.17% -1,165 -18.05% 6,454
Hancock 4,947 38.08% 8,036 61.86% 7 0.05% -3,089 -23.78% 12,990
Hardin 1,465 42.92% 1,944 56.96% 4 0.12% -479 -14.04% 3,413
Henderson 1,697 39.71% 2,572 60.19% 4 0.09% -875 -20.48% 4,273
Henry 10,372 42.01% 14,297 57.91% 21 0.09% -3,925 -15.90% 24,690
Iroquois 5,821 33.82% 11,376 66.09% 16 0.09% -5,555 -32.27% 17,213
Jackson 8,527 44.62% 10,568 55.30% 17 0.09% -2,041 -10.68% 19,112
Jasper 3,027 47.14% 3,393 52.84% 1 0.02% -366 -5.70% 6,421
Jefferson 7,784 44.16% 9,841 55.84% 0 0.00% -2,057 -11.68% 17,625
Jersey 4,087 48.99% 4,247 50.90% 9 0.11% -160 -1.91% 8,343
Jo Daviess 4,293 41.21% 6,111 58.66% 13 0.12% -1,818 -17.45% 10,417
Johnson 1,413 33.67% 2,778 66.19% 6 0.14% -1,365 -32.52% 4,197
Kane 31,279 36.05% 55,389 63.84% 93 0.11% -24,110 -27.79% 86,761
Kankakee 17,115 45.70% 20,311 54.23% 26 0.07% -3,196 -8.53% 37,452
Kendall 2,242 27.25% 5,975 72.62% 11 0.13% -3,733 -45.37% 8,228
Knox 11,889 39.83% 17,938 60.09% 23 0.08% -6,049 -20.26% 29,850
Lake 46,941 40.85% 67,809 59.02% 149 0.13% -20,868 -18.17% 114,899
LaSalle 27,532 49.94% 27,552 49.98% 41 0.07% -20 -0.04% 55,125
Lawrence 3,667 37.42% 6,120 62.45% 13 0.13% -2,453 -25.03% 9,800
Lee 5,896 35.22% 10,835 64.73% 8 0.05% -4,939 -29.51% 16,739
Livingston 6,642 33.57% 13,139 66.42% 2 0.01% -6,497 -32.85% 19,783
Logan 5,691 37.71% 9,383 62.18% 16 0.11% -3,692 -24.47% 15,090
Macon 26,029 48.85% 27,151 50.95% 108 0.20% -1,122 -2.10% 53,288
Macoupin 13,120 52.70% 11,731 47.12% 45 0.18% 1,389 5.58% 24,896
Madison 54,787 55.96% 42,984 43.90% 133 0.14% 11,803 12.06% 97,904
Marion 9,116 45.02% 11,121 54.92% 13 0.06% -2,005 -9.90% 20,250
Marshall 2,981 41.76% 4,150 58.14% 7 0.10% -1,169 -16.38% 7,138
Mason 3,824 46.75% 4,337 53.02% 19 0.23% -513 -6.27% 8,180
Massac 2,644 36.87% 4,521 63.05% 6 0.08% -1,877 -26.18% 7,171
McDonough 4,520 32.53% 9,363 67.39% 10 0.07% -4,843 -34.86% 13,893
McHenry 12,659 32.87% 25,787 66.97% 62 0.16% -13,128 -34.10% 38,508
McLean 13,971 36.04% 24,758 63.87% 32 0.08% -10,787 -27.83% 38,761
Menard 2,068 39.82% 3,120 60.08% 5 0.10% -1,052 -20.26% 5,193
Mercer 3,476 38.36% 5,582 61.60% 3 0.03% -2,106 -23.24% 9,061
Monroe 3,398 41.78% 4,731 58.17% 4 0.05% -1,333 -16.39% 8,133
Montgomery 8,815 48.95% 9,178 50.97% 14 0.08% -363 -2.02% 18,007
Morgan 7,259 42.54% 9,791 57.38% 12 0.07% -2,532 -14.84% 17,062
Moultrie 3,079 45.07% 3,752 54.93% 0 0.00% -673 -9.86% 6,831
Ogle 4,792 26.59% 13,226 73.38% 7 0.04% -8,434 -46.79% 18,025
Peoria 39,061 46.13% 45,529 53.77% 86 0.10% -6,468 -7.64% 84,676
Perry 4,958 42.48% 6,708 57.47% 6 0.05% -1,750 -14.99% 11,672
Piatt 2,889 39.05% 4,506 60.90% 4 0.05% -1,617 -21.85% 7,399
Pike 5,461 47.75% 5,965 52.16% 10 0.09% -504 -4.41% 11,436
Pope 971 36.44% 1,689 63.38% 5 0.19% -718 -26.94% 2,665
Pulaski 2,322 46.81% 2,621 52.83% 18 0.36% -299 -6.02% 4,961
Putnam 1,160 44.29% 1,457 55.63% 2 0.08% -297 -11.34% 2,619
Randolph 7,344 47.85% 7,988 52.05% 15 0.10% -644 -4.20% 15,347
Richland 3,015 36.09% 5,329 63.80% 9 0.11% -2,314 -27.71% 8,353
Rock Island 33,812 50.88% 32,534 48.96% 108 0.16% 1,278 1.92% 66,454
Saline 6,835 43.52% 8,853 56.36% 19 0.12% -2,018 -12.84% 15,707
Sangamon 35,793 46.28% 41,483 53.64% 59 0.08% -5,690 -7.36% 77,335
Schuyler 2,115 40.96% 3,047 59.00% 2 0.04% -932 -18.04% 5,164
Scott 1,543 40.46% 2,267 59.44% 4 0.10% -724 -18.98% 3,814
Shelby 5,720 45.39% 6,872 54.53% 11 0.09% -1,152 -9.14% 12,603
St. Clair 67,367 61.38% 42,046 38.31% 338 0.31% 25,321 23.07% 109,751
Stark 1,383 32.06% 2,925 67.80% 6 0.14% -1,542 -35.74% 4,314
Stephenson 8,055 36.62% 13,872 63.07% 68 0.31% -5,817 -26.45% 21,995
Tazewell 20,521 46.09% 23,967 53.83% 38 0.09% -3,446 -7.74% 44,526
Union 4,321 49.31% 4,432 50.58% 10 0.11% -111 -1.27% 8,763
Vermilion 19,702 42.51% 26,571 57.34% 69 0.15% -6,869 -14.83% 46,342
Wabash 3,013 41.40% 4,261 58.55% 4 0.05% -1,248 -17.15% 7,278
Warren 3,835 34.66% 7,221 65.25% 10 0.09% -3,386 -30.59% 11,066
Washington 3,093 37.92% 5,053 61.95% 11 0.13% -1,960 -24.03% 8,157
Wayne 3,954 37.25% 6,652 62.67% 9 0.08% -2,698 -25.42% 10,615
White 4,756 44.97% 5,810 54.93% 11 0.10% -1,054 -9.96% 10,577
Whiteside 9,112 34.27% 17,434 65.56% 46 0.17% -8,322 -31.29% 26,592
Will 41,056 49.04% 42,575 50.86% 81 0.10% -1,519 -1.82% 83,712
Williamson 11,335 45.17% 13,732 54.72% 29 0.12% -2,397 -9.55% 25,096
Winnebago 40,090 44.67% 49,541 55.20% 110 0.12% -9,451 -10.53% 89,741
Woodford 4,401 35.18% 8,101 64.76% 7 0.06% -3,700 -29.58% 12,509
Totals 2,377,846 49.98% 2,368,988 49.80% 10,575 0.22% 8,858 0.18% 4,757,409

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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Analysis

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Some, including Republican legislators and journalists, believed that Kennedy benefited from vote fraud from Mayor Richard J. Daley's powerful Chicago political machine.[12]

Daley's machine was known for "delivering whopping Democratic tallies by fair means and foul."[13] Republicans tried and failed to overturn the results at the time—as well as in ten other states.[13] Some journalists also later claimed that mobster Sam Giancana and his Chicago crime syndicate "played a role" in Kennedy's victory.[13] Nixon's campaign staff urged him to pursue recounts and challenge the validity of Kennedy's victory, but Nixon gave a speech three days after the election that he would not contest the election.[14]

A myth arose that Daley held back much of the Chicago vote until the late morning hours of November 9. However, when the Republican Chicago Tribune went to press, 79% of Cook County precincts had reported, compared to just 62% of Illinois's precincts overall. Moreover, Nixon never led in Illinois, and Kennedy's lead merely shrank as election night went on.[15] Earl Mazo, a reporter for the pro-Nixon New York Herald Tribune and his biographer, investigated the voting in Chicago and "claimed to have discovered sufficient evidence of vote fraud to prove that the state was stolen for Kennedy."[12]

A special prosecutor assigned to the case brought charges against 650 people, who were acquitted by a judge who was considered a "Daley machine loyalist."[14][13] Three Chicago election workers were convicted of voter fraud in 1962 and served short terms in jail.[14] Mazo, the Herald-Tribune reporter, later said that he "found names of the dead who had voted in Chicago, along with 56 people from one house."[14] He found cases of Republican voter fraud in southern Illinois but said that the totals "did not match the Chicago fraud he found."[14]

An academic study in 1985[16] later analyzed the ballots of two disputed precincts in Chicago which were subject to a recount. It found that while there was a pattern of miscounting votes to the advantage of Democratic candidates, Nixon suffered less than Republicans in other races, and the extrapolated error would have reduced his Illinois margin only from 8,858 votes, the final official total, to just under 8,000. It concluded there was insufficient evidence that he had been cheated out of winning Illinois.

Even if enough legitimate systemic fraud was discovered in Illinois to give Nixon the state, that alone would not have been enough to win him the presidency. Kennedy would've still been left with 276 electoral votes, seven more than what he needed to win the White House.

Recount

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Ben Adamowski, a Republican who lost reelection as Cook County State's Attorney to Democratic nominee Daniel P. Ward, requested a recount of the state's attorney race. Republicans sought to use this recount, as they could not order a recount of the presidential results, to prove that fraud had been committed in the presidential election. Sidney Holzman, the chair of the Board of Election Commissioners, stated that only the three BEC members could handle the ballots and would only recount the ballots for the state's attorney election. Judge Thaddeus Adesko ruled that twenty-five teams of counters had to be used and that the other elections would be included in the recount.[17]

The recount was finished on December 9, and showed that in six towns around Chicago, mistakes of ten votes or more in favor of Kennedy occurred in 3.1% of the precincts, those in favor of Nixon occurred in 2.6%, and those in favor of third-parties occurred in 4.8%. 11% of the precincts in Chicago had errors of ten votes or more in Kennedy's favor and 8.6% in Nixon's favor. Kennedy's vote was overcounted in 38% of Chicago's precincts while Nixon's vote was overcounted in 40%. Nixon's total was increased by 926 votes.[18]

Republicans accused the election commission of manipulating the recount and Adamowski successfully sued for another recount in 1961, although only his election was recounted. The original recount increased his vote total by 9.073 while the second one increased his total by 12.694 per precinct.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "United States Presidential election of 1960 - Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  2. ^ "1960 Election for the Forty-Fourth Term (1961-65)". Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  3. ^ "1960 Presidential General Election Results - Illinois". Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  4. ^ "The American Presidency Project - Election of 1960". Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d Illinois Blue Book 1959-1960. Illinois Secretary of State. p. 871. Retrieved March 31, 2020. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  6. ^ a b "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 10, 2020.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ a b Illinois Blue Book 1961-1962. Illinois Secretary of State. p. 963. Retrieved March 31, 2020. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  8. ^ a b c d e "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION, NOVEMBER 8, 1960 JUDICIAL ELECTION 1959-1960 • PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, APRIL 12 1960" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 4, 2020.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ a b c Oliphant, Thomas; Wilkie, Curtis (2017). The road to Camelot: Inside JFK's Five-Year Campaign. Simon & Schuster.
  10. ^ a b "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION, NOVEMBER 8, 1960 JUDICIAL ELECTION 1959-1960 • PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, APRIL 12 1960" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 4, 2020.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ a b "RESULTS OF 1960 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PRIMARIES". John F. Kennedy presidential library. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  12. ^ a b "The fallacy of Nixon's graceful exit". Salon. November 10, 2000. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  13. ^ a b c d Greenberg, David (October 16, 2000). "Was Nixon Robbed?". Slate.
  14. ^ a b c d e "Another Race To the Finish". The Washington Post. November 17, 2000. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  15. ^ von Hippel, Paul (August 8, 2017). "Here's a voter fraud myth: Richard Daley 'stole' Illinois for John Kennedy in the 1960 election?". The Washington Post.
  16. ^ Kallina 1985.
  17. ^ Kallina 1985, p. 114–115.
  18. ^ Kallina 1985, p. 115–116.
  19. ^ Kallina 1985, p. 116–117.

Works cited

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