1974 United States Senate election in Illinois
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November 5, 1974
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| Turnout | 49.35% | ||||||||||||||||
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 County results Stevenson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Burditt: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Illinois |
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The 1974 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 5, 1974.[1] Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Adlai Stevenson III, who was first elected in a special election in 1970, was re-elected to a full term in office, defeating Republican George Burditt by a landslide margin of 62% to 37%.
Background
[edit]The primaries (held March 19) and general elections coincided with those for House and those for state offices.[1]
Turnout in the primary elections was 24.88%, with a total of 1,502,852 votes cast.[1] Turnout during the general election was 49.35%, with 2,914,666 votes cast.[1]
Democratic primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Adlai Stevenson III, incumbent U.S. senator since 1970
- Walter Dakin Williams, candidate for Senate in 1972 and brother of playwright Tennessee Williams
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Adlai Stevenson III (incumbent) | 822,248 | 82.90% | |
| Democratic | W. Dakin Williams | 169,662 | 17.11% | |
| Total votes | 991,910 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- George Burditt, attorney and former state representative from Western Springs[2]
- Lawrence Daly, perennial candidate
Declined
[edit]- John B. Anderson, U.S. representative from Rockford[3]
- Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. ambassador to NATO and former U.S. representative from Wilmette[3]
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George Burditt | 432,796 | 84.71% | |
| Republican | Lawrence Daly | 78,146 | 15.29% | |
| Total votes | 510,942 | 100.00% | ||
General election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- George Burditt, attorney and former state representative from Western Springs[2] (Republican)
- Ishmael Flory, civil rights activist and trade union organizer (Communist)
- Edward Heisler (Socialist Workers)
- Adlai Stevenson III, incumbent U.S. senator since 1970 (Democratic)
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Adlai Stevenson III (incumbent) | 1,811,496 | 62.15% |  4.77 | |
| Republican | George Burditt | 1,084,884 | 37.22% |  5.00 | |
| Socialist Workers | Edward Heisler | 12,413 | 0.43% | 0.18 | |
| Communist | Ishmael Flory | 5,873 | 0.20% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 2,914,666 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 5, 1974 JUDICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, MARCH, 19, 1974" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 10, 2026. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- 1 2 "George Miller Burditt Jr., former Illinois state representative, 1922-2013". Chicago Tribune. March 28, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
- 1 2 "Illinois Republican Finds Watergate and Prices Hurting G.O.P. (Published 1973)". August 22, 1973. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1970" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. p. 7. Retrieved March 13, 2015.