1966 United States Senate election in Illinois
← 1960 November 8, 1966 1972 →
Turnout71.56%
 
Nominee Charles Percy Paul Douglas
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 2,100,449 1,678,147
Percentage 54.95% 43.90%
County results

Percy:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%

Douglas:      50–60%
U.S. senator before election

Paul Douglas
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Charles H. Percy
Republican

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The 1966 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 8, 1966.[1] Incumbent Democratic United States Senator Paul Douglas, seeking a fourth term in the United States Senate, faced off against Republican Charles H. Percy, a businessman and the 1964 Republican nominee for Governor of Illinois. A competitive election ensued, featuring campaign appearances by former vice president Richard M. Nixon on behalf of Percy.[2] Ultimately, Percy ended up defeating Senator Douglas by a fairly wide margin, allowing him to win what would be the first of three terms in the Senate.

Election information

The primary (held on June 14) and general election coincided with those for House and state elections.[1]

Turnout

Turnout in the primaries was 27.13%, with 1,509,302 votes cast.[1][3]

Turnout during the general election was 71.56%, with a total of 3,822,724 votes cast.[1][3]

Democratic primary

Incumbent Paul Douglas was renominated, running unopposed.

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Paul H. Douglas (incumbent) 840,936 100
Write-in Others 3 0.00
Total votes 840,939 100

Republican primary

Businessman Charles H. Percy won the Republican primary by a large margin.

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Charles H. Percy 605,815 90.64
Republican Howard J. Doyle 38,636 5.78
Republican Lar "America First" Daly 23,889 3.57
Write-in Others 23 0.00
Total votes 668,363 100

Write-in candidates

General election

Results

United States Senate election in Illinois, 1966[1][3][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Charles H. Percy 2,100,449 54.95% +9.75%
Democratic Paul H. Douglas (incumbent) 1,678,147 43.90% -10.73%
Write-in Robert Sabonjian 41,965 1.10%
Write-in Maxwell Primack 1,693 0.04%
Write-in Others 470 0.01%
Majority 422,302 11.05% +1.61%
Turnout 3,822,724 71.56
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 8, 1966 JUDICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, JUNE, 14, 1966" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 30, 2020.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Perlstein, Rick. Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America. New York: Scribner, 2008. Print.
  3. ^ a b c "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]
  4. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1966" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
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