Politics of Illinois

The US state of Illinois is a Democratic stronghold and one of the "big three" Democratic states alongside California and New York.[1] It is considered one of the most Democratic states in the nation and as of 2017, four of six statewide elected offices are held by a Democrat.

Historically, Illinois was a critical swing state leaning marginally towards the Republican Party. Following Bill Clinton's election in 1992, and his victory in Illinois, the state has been realigned in favor of Democratic candidates for president, with six consecutive wins by that party, regardless of the national outcome. Traditionally, Chicago, East Saint Louis, and the Quad Cities region have tended to vote heavily Democratic, along with the Central Illinois population centers of Peoria, Champaign-Urbana and Decatur. In recent years, Chicago's suburban collar counties continue to trend Democratic as well.[2]

Rod R. Blagojevich, a Democrat, was elected as Illinois' Governor in 2002, replacing George H. Ryan. Blagojevich was re-elected in 2006, defeating Republican State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka. However, in 2009, Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office due to charges that he abused his power while in office. Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn succeeded him. Following Quinn's election to a full term outright in 2010, the state elected Bruce Rauner, the first Republican chief executive in twelve years.

Statewide elected officials

OfficeOfficeholderPartyTook office
Governor Bruce RaunerRepublican2015
Lieutenant Governor Evelyn SanguinettiRepublican2015
Secretary of State Jesse WhiteDemocratic1999
Attorney General Lisa MadiganDemocratic2003
Comptroller Susana MendozaDemocratic2016
Treasurer Mike Frerichs Democratic2015
U.S. Senator (Class II) Richard DurbinDemocratic1997
U.S. Senator (Class III) Tammy DuckworthDemocratic2017

Voter registration

As of October 2016, Illinois had nearly 8 million active, registered voters.[3]

Presidential elections

Presidential elections results
Year Republican Democratic
2016 38.76% 2,146,015 55.83% 3,090,729
2012 40.66% 2,135,216 57.50% 3,019,512
2008 36.73% 2,031,179 61.83% 3,419,348
2004 44.48% 2,345,946 54.82% 2,891,550
2000 42.58% 2,019,421 54.60% 2,589,026
1996 36.81% 1,587,021 54.32% 2,341,744
1992 34.34% 1,734,096 48.58% 2,453,350
1988 50.69% 2,310,939 48.60% 2,215,940
1984 56.17% 2,707,103 43.30% 2,086,499
1980 49.65% 2,359,049 41.72% 1,981,413
1976 50.10% 2,364,269 48.13% 2,271,295
1972 59.03% 2,788,179 40.51% 1,913,472
1968 47.08% 2,174,774 44.15% 2,039,814
1964 40.53% 1,905,946 59.47% 2,796,833
1960 49.80% 2,368,988 49.98% 2,377,846

2016

The 2016 Presidential election featured former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton against real estate mogul Donald Trump. As expected, Clinton won Illinois handily, 56% to 39%, though Trump won the election. Illinois backed the Democratic candidate for the seventh consecutive presidential election.

Illinois' historic Chicago-downstate divide deepened even further; with Clinton winning Cook County and most of the collar counties by an even larger margin than longtime Chicago resident Barack Obama did in 2012,[4] while Trump's share of the vote was greater than Mitt Romney's four years earlier in all but two of the downstate counties.[5] As in much of the Midwest, Trump's strong performance downstate was largely propelled by the region's many white working class voters. County by county, the national shift toward the Republican Party under Trump was most pronounced in the Midwest, and enabled Trump to win every Midwestern state except Illinois and Minnesota, the latter of which he lost by only 1.5%.

2012

The incumbent and Illinois resident, President Barack Obama faced Republican Governor Mitt Romney, of Massachusetts, in the general election. Barack Obama carried Illinois with a margin of four and one quarter points less, as a share of the total, than he did in his 2008 victory. Mitt Romney carried for points more than the preceding Republican nominee, John McCain; President Obama defeated Governor Romney in the electoral college overall, winning reelection. Obama's victory in Illinois was due to an overwhelmingly strong vote total in Cook County, which includes Illinois' largest city, Chicago. Obama won Cook County with 74%, compared to Romney who received only 24.6% of the votes in Cook County. The importance of the vote in Chicago and the rest of Cook County to Obama's victory in Illinois can be illustrated by a hypothetical scenario in which its votes are not included in the overall state total. If one were to subtract all of the votes in Cook County from Illinois' total votes cast, Romney would have actually won Illinois. The 2012 statewide victory for the Democratic candidate constitutes the sixth consecutive win by that party, regardless of national outcome.

2008

The 2008 Presidential election featured Democratic candidate, and Illinois resident, Barack Obama facing off against US Senator John McCain. Barack Obama carried Illinois by a much bigger margin than Kerry did in 2004. Obama won Illinois with 62% of the vote. In addition to carrying major urban centers, Obama won a number of rural counties as well, a trend reflected across the country and especially the Midwest. Prior to his election to President, he represented the state in the US Senate since January 2005.

2004

Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry carried Illinois with 54% of the vote. His victory in Illinois was largely determined by a wide margin of votes cast in Cook County, with many counties outside of the Chicago metropolitan area voting for President Bush. Illinois politics are largely regionally divided, with Chicago and a few downstate microurban communities supporting Democratic candidates, the Chicago suburban counties being primarily "swing" or "purple" areas, and much of the rural portion of the state being conservative. Several of the notable "downstate" blue spots that contributed to Kerry's win include East Saint Louis, the Quad City region, Peoria, and Champaign and Jackson counties, which have a large college-bound population.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Illinois: The Most Democratic State". NBC Chicago.
  2. ↑ "Dem's Downstate losses offset in Collar Counties". Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "Illinois has highest number of registered voters since 1970". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  4. ↑ Bentle, Kyle. "In Illinois, Chicago-area Clinton votes overtook rest of state". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "Illinois 2016 Presidential And State Election Results". npr.org. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
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