1950 Illinois elections
November 7, 1950

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 7, 1950.[1]

Primaries were held April 11, 1950.[1]

Election information

1950 was a midterm election year in the United States.

Turnout

In the primary election 1,789,787 ballots were cast (912,563 Democratic and 877,224 Republican).[1]

In the general election 3,731,618 ballots were cast.[1][2]

Federal elections

United States Senate

Incumbent Senate Majority Leader Scott W. Lucas, a two-term incumbent Democratic senator, lost reelection to Republican Everett Dirksen.

United States House

All 26 Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1950.

Republicans flipped four Republican-held seats, leaving the Illinois House delegation to consist of 18 Republicans and 8 Democrats.

State elections

Treasurer

1950 Illinois State Treasurer election
November 7, 1950
 
Nominee William Stratton Michael Howlett
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,959,734 1,568,765
Percentage 55.34% 44.30%
Treasurer before election

Ora Smith
Democratic

 Elected Treasurer

William Stratton
Republican

Incumbent first-term Treasurer, Democrat Ora Smith, did not seek reelection, instead running for Clerk of the Supreme Court. Republican William Stratton was elected to succeed him, earning Stratton a second non-consecutive term as Treasurer.

Democratic primary

Treasurer Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael Howlett 680,161 100
Write-in Others 3 0.00
Total votes 680,164 100

Republican primary

Former Illinois Treasurer and congressman William Stratton won the Republican primary. He defeated Cook County Treasurer Louis E. Nelson,[3] former congressman James Simpson Jr., fellow former Illinois Treasurer Warren E. Wright, Chicago alderman Theron W. Merryman,[4] among others.

Treasurer Republican primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William G. Stratton 290,242 38.54
Republican Louis E. Nelson 214,113 28.43
Republican James Simpson 126,122 16.75
Republican Warren E. Wright 61,103 8.11
Republican Theron W. Merryman 25,194 3.35
Republican Herbert B. Blanchard 23,556 3.13
Republican Henry J. Samuel 12,864 1.71
Total votes 753,194 100

General election

Treasurer election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William G. Stratton 1,959,734 55.34
Democratic Michael Howlett 1,568,765 44.30
Prohibition Enoch A. Holtwick 13,050 0.37
Write-in Others 9 0.00
Total votes 3,541,558 100

Superintendent of Public Instruction

1950 Illinois Superintendent of Public Instruction election
November 7, 1950
 
Nominee Vernon L. Nickell C. Hobart Engle
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,995,495 1,505,257
Percentage 56.77% 42.82%
Superintendent before election

Vernon L. Nickell
Republican

 Elected Superintendent

Vernon L. Nickell
Republican

Incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Vernon L. Nickell, a Republican, was reelected to a third term.

Democratic primary

Superintendent of Public Instruction Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic C. Hobart Engle 475,461 100
Democratic Mark A. Peterman 218,021 100
Write-in Others 1 100
Total votes 693,483 100

Republican primary

Superintendent of Public Instruction Republican primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Vernon L. Nickell (incumbent) 521,759 74.41
Republican Clyde Franklin Burgess 179,415 25.59
Total votes 701,174 100

General election

Superintendent of Public Instruction election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Vernon L. Nickell (incumbent) 1,995,495 56.77
Democratic C. Hobart Engle 1,505,257 42.82
Prohibition Henry L. Lundquist 14,298 0.41
Total votes 3,515,050 100

Clerk of the Supreme Court

1950 Illinois Clerk of the Supreme Court election
November 7, 1950
 
Nominee Earle Benjamin Searcy Ora Smith
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,905,704 1,584,162
Percentage 54.42% 45.23%
Clerk before election

Earle Benjamin Searcy
Republican

 Elected Clerk

Earle Benjamin Searcy
Republican

Incumbent Clerk of the Supreme Court Earle Benjamin Searcy, a Republican, was reelected.

Democratic primary

Illinois Treasurer Ora Smith won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.

Clerk of the Supreme Court Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ora Smith 674,744 100
Write-in Others 2 0.00
Total votes 674,746 100

Republican primary

Incumbent Earle Benjamin Searcy won the Republican primary, defeating three challengers.

Clerk of the Supreme Court Republican primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Earle Benjamin Searcy (incumbent) 382,131 55.90
Republican William H. Brown 153,943 22.52
Republican George C. Moffat 91,004 13.31
Republican Eugene T. Devitt 56,482 8.26
Write-in Others 1 0.00
Total votes 683,561 100

General election

Clerk of the Supreme Court election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Earle Benjamin Searcy (incumbent) 1,905,704 54.42
Democratic James P. Alexander 1,584,162 45.23
Prohibition Irving B. Gilbert 12,291 0.35
Write-in Others 1 0.00
Total votes 3,502,158 100

State Senate

Seats in the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1950. Republicans flipped control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1950. Republicans remained in control of the chamber.

Trustees of University of Illinois

1950 Trustees of University of Illinois election
November 7, 1950

An election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois.

New Republican members Harold "Red" Grange Wayne A. Johnston, and Herbert B. Megran were elected.[1][5]

Second-term Democrat Karl A. Meyer lost reelection.[1][5] Democrat Kenney E. Williamson (serving his first full, and second overall term) also lost reelection.[1][5] Incumbent first-term Democrat Walter W. McLaughlin was not nominated for reelection, with former member Harold Pogue nominated instead.[1][5]

Trustees of the University of Illinois election[1][5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Harold "Red" Grange 1,945,936 18.72
Republican Wayne A. Johnston 1,895,867 18.24
Republican Herbert B. Megran 1,852,747 17.83
Democratic Dr. Karl A. Meyer (incumbent) 1,648,772 15.86
Democratic Kenney E. Williamson (incumbent) 1,533,087 14.75
Democratic Harold Pogue 1,517,449 14.60
Prohibition Olive R. Wilson 12,446½ 0.12
Prohibition Edward N. Himmel 12,382½ 0.12
Prohibition Albert F. Schersten 11,766½ 0.11
Total votes 10,393,858 100

Judicial elections

On April 11, two special elections were held, one to fill a vacancy of the Circuit Court of Cook County and one to fill a vacancy on the Superior Court of Cook County.

Ballot measure

One measure was put before voters in 1950, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.

In order to be approved, it required approval equal to a majority of voters voting in the entire general election.[6]

Illinois Gateway Amendment

The Illinois Gateway Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to Section 2 of Article XIV of the Constitution, was approved by voters.[1][7] It made it so that the legislature would be able to propose modifications of up to three articles of the constitution per session, and also made it so that future constitutional amendments would require either a two-thirds vote of the voters voting on the question or a majority of voter voting in the election.[7]

Illinois Gateway Amendment[1]
Option Votes on measure  % of all ballots
cast
Yes 2,512,323 67.33
No 735,903 19.72
Total votes 3,248,226 87.05

Local elections

Local elections were held.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 "OFFICIAL VOTE of the STATE OF ILLINOIS Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION, November 7, 1950 JUDICIAL ELECTION, 1950, • PRIMARY ELECTION General Primary, April 11, 1950" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  2. ↑ "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 2, 1982" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  3. ↑ The National Corporation Reporter. United States Corporation Bureau, Incorporated. 1947. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  4. ↑ Ambrosius, Andy (March 8, 2013). "Nearly $500K Injected into Merryman Park Renovations (PHOTOS)". Lake View, IL Patch. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  6. ↑ Illinois Constitution of 1870 ARTICLE XIV Section 2
  7. 1 2 "Illinois Gateway Amendment (1950)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
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