1950 Illinois elections

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

1950 Illinois elections

← 1948 November 7, 1950 1952 →

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

Main article: 1950 United States Senate election in Illinois

See also: 1950 United States Senate elections

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

United States House

Main article: 1950 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois

See also: 1950 United States House of Representatives elections

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

← 1948 November 7, 1950 1952 →

Nominee William Stratton Michael Howlett Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,959,734 1,568,765 Percentage 55.34% 44.30%

County results Stratton:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Howlett:      50–60%

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

← 1946 November 7, 1950 1954 →

Nominee Vernon L. Nickell C. Hobart Engle Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,995,495 1,505,257 Percentage 56.77% 42.82%

County results Nickell:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Engle:      50–60%

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

← 1944 November 7, 1950 1956 →

Nominee Earle Benjamin Searcy Ora Smith Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,905,704 1,584,162 Percentage 54.42% 45.23%

County results Searcy:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Smith:      50–60%

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

← 1948 November 7, 1950 1952 →

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

Amendment results by county

Yes:

•   80–90%
•   70–80%
•   60–70%
•   50–60%

No:

•   50–60%

Local elections

Local elections were held. Results happened.