1940 Illinois gubernatorial elections

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1940 Illinois gubernatorial election

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| <- 1936 | November 5, 1940 | 1944 ->

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Nominee  | Dwight H. Green | Harry B. Hershey |
Party  | Republican | Democratic
Popular vote  | 2,197,778 | 1,940,833
Percentage  | 52.93% | 46.74%

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County results

Green: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%

Hershey: 50–60% 60–70%

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| Governor before election

Henry Horner (before primary)
Democratic
John Henry Stelle
(before general election)
Democratic

| Elected Governor

Dwight H. Green
Republican

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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

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### Candidates

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* 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

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Gubernatorial Democratic primary[3] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

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| 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 | 2  | 0.00
Total votes | 1,365,440  | 100

## Republican primary

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### Candidates

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* 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  | %

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| Republican | Dwight H. Green | 610,025  | 57.14
| Republican | Richard J. Lyons | 457,643  | 42.86
Total votes | 1,067,668  | 100

## General election

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Gubernatorial election[3] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

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| 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

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1. ^ Smith, Harold (February 15, 1942). "Hopes of GOP Run High in Congress Race". Chicago Tribune. "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.
3. ^ 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.