The 1960 United States presidential election in Illinois took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. State voters chose 27 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
In the nation's second-closest race following Hawaii, Illinois was won by Senator John F. Kennedy (D–Massachusetts), running with Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, with 49.98% of the popular vote against incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon (R–California), running with former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., with 49.80% of the popular vote, a margin of victory of only 0.18%.
Primaries Turnout Turnout in the state-run primary elections (Democratic and Republican) was 16.43% with a total of 836,458 votes cast.
Turnout during the general election was 86.51%, with 4,757,409 votes cast. Both major parties held non-binding state-run preferential primaries on April 12.
Democratic
The 1960 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on April 12, 1960, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Democratic Party's state primaries ahead of the 1960 presidential election.
The popular vote was a non-binding "beauty contest". Delegates were instead elected by direct votes by congressional district on delegate candidates.
All candidates were write-ins. Kennedy ran a write-in campaign, and no candidate actively ran against him in Illinois.
Not all of the vote-getters had been declared candidates. Johnson, Stevenson, and Symington had all sat out the primaries.
Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley, head of the Cook County Democratic Party, promised to deliver Kennedy the support of Cook County's delegates, so long as Kennedy won competitive primaries in other states.
1960 Illinois Democratic presidential primaryCandidateVotesPercentage John F. Kennedy (write-in) 34,332 64.57% Adlai Stevenson (write-in) 8,029 15.10% Stuart Symington (write-in) 5,744 10.80% Hubert Humphrey (write-in) 4,283 8.06% Lyndon B. Johnson (write-in) 442 0.83% Others 337 0.63% Totals 53,167 100.00%
Republican
The 1960 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on April 12, 1960, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 1960 presidential election.
The preference vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct-vote in each congressional district on delegate candidates.
Nixon ran unopposed in the primary.
1960 Illinois Republican presidential primaryPartyCandidateVotesPercentage Republican Richard Nixon 782,849 99.94% Write-in Others 442 0.1% Totals 783,291 100.00%
Results
Results by county CountyJohn F. KennedyDemocraticRichard NixonRepublicanVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal votes cast # % # % # % # % Adams 14,827 44.22% 18,674 55.70% 28 0.08% -3,847 -11.48% 33,529 Alexander 4,477 51.83% 4,143 47.96% 18 0.21% 334 3.87% 8,638 Bond 2,856 39.88% 4,297 60.00% 9 0.13% -1,441 -20.12% 7,162 Boone 2,605 28.43% 6,552 71.51% 5 0.05% -3,947 -43.08% 9,162 Brown 1,849 49.44% 1,889 50.51% 2 0.05% -40 -1.07% 3,740 Bureau 7,786 38.15% 12,597 61.73% 24 0.12% -4,811 -23.58% 20,407 Calhoun 1,608 49.22% 1,654 50.63% 5 0.15% -46 -1.41% 3,267 Carroll 3,097 32.88% 6,282 66.70% 39 0.41% -3,185 -33.82% 9,418 Cass 3,692 47.85% 4,015 52.04% 8 0.10% -323 -4.19% 7,715 Champaign 17,115 37.66% 27,793 61.16% 533 1.17% -10,678 -23.50% 45,441 Christian 10,207 52.38% 9,263 47.54% 15 0.08% 944 4.84% 19,485 Clark 3,949 42.59% 5,319 57.36% 5 0.05% -1,370 -14.77% 9,273 Clay 3,394 39.75% 5,134 60.13% 10 0.12% -1,740 -20.38% 8,538 Clinton 6,188 51.99% 5,709 47.96% 6 0.05% 479 4.03% 11,903 Coles 8,629 41.46% 12,166 58.45% 19 0.09% -3,537 -16.99% 20,814 Cook 1,378,343 56.37% 1,059,607 43.33% 7,319 0.30% 318,736 13.04% 2,445,269 Crawford 4,245 38.39% 6,809 61.58% 4 0.04% -2,564 -23.19% 11,058 Cumberland 2,475 45.00% 3,020 54.91% 5 0.09% -545 -9.91% 5,500 DeKalb 6,783 30.30% 15,586 69.62% 19 0.08% -8,803 -39.32% 22,388 DeWitt 3,607 41.51% 5,074 58.40% 8 0.09% -1,467 -16.89% 8,689 Douglas 3,532 37.98% 5,761 61.95% 6 0.06% -2,229 -23.97% 9,299 DuPage 44,263 30.43% 101,014 69.45% 168 0.12% -56,751 -39.02% 145,445 Edgar 5,024 40.59% 7,348 59.37% 4 0.03% -2,324 -18.78% 12,376 Edwards 1,446 30.47% 3,291 69.36% 8 0.17% -1,845 -38.89% 4,745 Effingham 5,676 46.94% 6,410 53.01% 6 0.05% -734 -6.07% 12,092 Fayette 4,907 42.65% 6,586 57.25% 11 0.10% -1,679 -14.60% 11,504 Ford 2,698 31.82% 5,779 68.16% 1 0.01% -3,081 -36.34% 8,478 Franklin 11,368 48.86% 11,861 50.98% 37 0.16% -493 -2.12% 23,266 Fulton 10,194 45.81% 11,999 53.93% 58 0.26% -1,805 -8.12% 22,251 Gallatin 2,386 52.21% 2,179 47.68% 5 0.11% 207 4.53% 4,570 Greene 3,847 46.10% 4,487 53.78% 10 0.12% -640 -7.68% 8,344 Grundy 4,276 38.08% 6,948 61.88% 4 0.04% -2,672 -23.80% 11,228 Hamilton 2,639 40.89% 3,804 58.94% 11 0.17% -1,165 -18.05% 6,454 Hancock 4,947 38.08% 8,036 61.86% 7 0.05% -3,089 -23.78% 12,990 Hardin 1,465 42.92% 1,944 56.96% 4 0.12% -479 -14.04% 3,413 Henderson 1,697 39.71% 2,572 60.19% 4 0.09% -875 -20.48% 4,273 Henry 10,372 42.01% 14,297 57.91% 21 0.09% -3,925 -15.90% 24,690 Iroquois 5,821 33.82% 11,376 66.09% 16 0.09% -5,555 -32.27% 17,213 Jackson 8,527 44.62% 10,568 55.30% 17 0.09% -2,041 -10.68% 19,112 Jasper 3,027 47.14% 3,393 52.84% 1 0.02% -366 -5.70% 6,421 Jefferson 7,784 44.16% 9,841 55.84% 0 0.00% -2,057 -11.68% 17,625 Jersey 4,087 48.99% 4,247 50.90% 9 0.11% -160 -1.91% 8,343 Jo Daviess 4,293 41.21% 6,111 58.66% 13 0.12% -1,818 -17.45% 10,417 Johnson 1,413 33.67% 2,778 66.19% 6 0.14% -1,365 -32.52% 4,197 Kane 31,279 36.05% 55,389 63.84% 93 0.11% -24,110 -27.79% 86,761 Kankakee 17,115 45.70% 20,311 54.23% 26 0.07% -3,196 -8.53% 37,452 Kendall 2,242 27.25% 5,975 72.62% 11 0.13% -3,733 -45.37% 8,228 Knox 11,889 39.83% 17,938 60.09% 23 0.08% -6,049 -20.26% 29,850 Lake 46,941 40.85% 67,809 59.02% 149 0.13% -20,868 -18.17% 114,899 LaSalle 27,532 49.94% 27,552 49.98% 41 0.07% -20 -0.04% 55,125 Lawrence 3,667 37.42% 6,120 62.45% 13 0.13% -2,453 -25.03% 9,800 Lee 5,896 35.22% 10,835 64.73% 8 0.05% -4,939 -29.51% 16,739 Livingston 6,642 33.57% 13,139 66.42% 2 0.01% -6,497 -32.85% 19,783 Logan 5,691 37.71% 9,383 62.18% 16 0.11% -3,692 -24.47% 15,090 Macon 26,029 48.85% 27,151 50.95% 108 0.20% -1,122 -2.10% 53,288 Macoupin 13,120 52.70% 11,731 47.12% 45 0.18% 1,389 5.58% 24,896 Madison 54,787 55.96% 42,984 43.90% 133 0.14% 11,803 12.06% 97,904 Marion 9,116 45.02% 11,121 54.92% 13 0.06% -2,005 -9.90% 20,250 Marshall 2,981 41.76% 4,150 58.14% 7 0.10% -1,169 -16.38% 7,138 Mason 3,824 46.75% 4,337 53.02% 19 0.23% -513 -6.27% 8,180 Massac 2,644 36.87% 4,521 63.05% 6 0.08% -1,877 -26.18% 7,171 McDonough 4,520 32.53% 9,363 67.39% 10 0.07% -4,843 -34.86% 13,893 McHenry 12,659 32.87% 25,787 66.97% 62 0.16% -13,128 -34.10% 38,508 McLean 13,971 36.04% 24,758 63.87% 32 0.08% -10,787 -27.83% 38,761 Menard 2,068 39.82% 3,120 60.08% 5 0.10% -1,052 -20.26% 5,193 Mercer 3,476 38.36% 5,582 61.60% 3 0.03% -2,106 -23.24% 9,061 Monroe 3,398 41.78% 4,731 58.17% 4 0.05% -1,333 -16.39% 8,133 Montgomery 8,815 48.95% 9,178 50.97% 14 0.08% -363 -2.02% 18,007 Morgan 7,259 42.54% 9,791 57.38% 12 0.07% -2,532 -14.84% 17,062 Moultrie 3,079 45.07% 3,752 54.93% 0 0.00% -673 -9.86% 6,831 Ogle 4,792 26.59% 13,226 73.38% 7 0.04% -8,434 -46.79% 18,025 Peoria 39,061 46.13% 45,529 53.77% 86 0.10% -6,468 -7.64% 84,676 Perry 4,958 42.48% 6,708 57.47% 6 0.05% -1,750 -14.99% 11,672 Piatt 2,889 39.05% 4,506 60.90% 4 0.05% -1,617 -21.85% 7,399 Pike 5,461 47.75% 5,965 52.16% 10 0.09% -504 -4.41% 11,436 Pope 971 36.44% 1,689 63.38% 5 0.19% -718 -26.94% 2,665 Pulaski 2,322 46.81% 2,621 52.83% 18 0.36% -299 -6.02% 4,961 Putnam 1,160 44.29% 1,457 55.63% 2 0.08% -297 -11.34% 2,619 Randolph 7,344 47.85% 7,988 52.05% 15 0.10% -644 -4.20% 15,347 Richland 3,015 36.09% 5,329 63.80% 9 0.11% -2,314 -27.71% 8,353 Rock Island 33,812 50.88% 32,534 48.96% 108 0.16% 1,278 1.92% 66,454 Saline 6,835 43.52% 8,853 56.36% 19 0.12% -2,018 -12.84% 15,707 Sangamon 35,793 46.28% 41,483 53.64% 59 0.08% -5,690 -7.36% 77,335 Schuyler 2,115 40.96% 3,047 59.00% 2 0.04% -932 -18.04% 5,164 Scott 1,543 40.46% 2,267 59.44% 4 0.10% -724 -18.98% 3,814 Shelby 5,720 45.39% 6,872 54.53% 11 0.09% -1,152 -9.14% 12,603 St. Clair 67,367 61.38% 42,046 38.31% 338 0.31% 25,321 23.07% 109,751 Stark 1,383 32.06% 2,925 67.80% 6 0.14% -1,542 -35.74% 4,314 Stephenson 8,055 36.62% 13,872 63.07% 68 0.31% -5,817 -26.45% 21,995 Tazewell 20,521 46.09% 23,967 53.83% 38 0.09% -3,446 -7.74% 44,526 Union 4,321 49.31% 4,432 50.58% 10 0.11% -111 -1.27% 8,763 Vermilion 19,702 42.51% 26,571 57.34% 69 0.15% -6,869 -14.83% 46,342 Wabash 3,013 41.40% 4,261 58.55% 4 0.05% -1,248 -17.15% 7,278 Warren 3,835 34.66% 7,221 65.25% 10 0.09% -3,386 -30.59% 11,066 Washington 3,093 37.92% 5,053 61.95% 11 0.13% -1,960 -24.03% 8,157 Wayne 3,954 37.25% 6,652 62.67% 9 0.08% -2,698 -25.42% 10,615 White 4,756 44.97% 5,810 54.93% 11 0.10% -1,054 -9.96% 10,577 Whiteside 9,112 34.27% 17,434 65.56% 46 0.17% -8,322 -31.29% 26,592 Will 41,056 49.04% 42,575 50.86% 81 0.10% -1,519 -1.82% 83,712 Williamson 11,335 45.17% 13,732 54.72% 29 0.12% -2,397 -9.55% 25,096 Winnebago 40,090 44.67% 49,541 55.20% 110 0.12% -9,451 -10.53% 89,741Woodford 4,401 35.18% 8,101 64.76% 7 0.06% -3,700 -29.58% 12,509Totals2,377,84649.98%2,368,98849.80%10,5750.22%8,8580.18%4,757,409
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Alexander Cook Christian Clinton Rock Island
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Union
Analysis Alleged mafia intervention Some journalists later argued that mobster Sam Giancana and his Chicago crime syndicate "played a role" in Kennedy's victory. Giancana's mistress Judith Exner and Frank Sinatra's daughter Tina Sinatra both stated that Giancana used his connections to persuade unions to support Kennedy. According to Exner, Giancana bragged to her that Kennedy would never have been elected without him. However, it is alleged that Giancana came to regret aiding Kennedy get elected due to the fact that attorney general Robert F. Kennedy made significant efforts to crack down on organized crime. The lawyer Robert J. McDonnell, later to become the son-in-law of Giancana, told journalist Seymour Hersh that at the request of judge William J. Tuohy he helped set up a meeting between Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Giancana. Sinatra's daughter Tina told Hersh a similar story, that through her father Kennedy set up a meeting with Giancana.
Frank Ragano, lawyer for Florida mob boss Santo Trafficante Jr., stated that Giancana complained to his client that "We broke our balls for him and gave him the election, and he gets his brother to hound us to death". In the book Double Cross by Chuck Giancana, the half-brother of Giancana claimed Giancana said “I help get Jack elected and, in return, he calls off the heat".
Alleged fraud Some, including Republican legislators and journalists, believed that Kennedy benefited from vote fraud from Mayor Richard J. Daley's powerful Chicago political machine.
Daley's machine was known for "delivering whopping Democratic tallies by fair means and foul." Republicans tried and failed to overturn the results at the time—as well as in ten other states. Nixon's campaign staff urged him to pursue recounts and challenge the validity of Kennedy's victory, but Nixon gave a speech three days after the election that he would not contest the election.