Elections
Walker-Hewlett contest recalls 1936 primary that set a record
THE PRIMARY contest between Gov. Dan
Walker and Sec. of State Michael J. Howlett
for the Democratic nomination for governor
inevitably recalls a similar battle 40 years
ago when Gov. Henry Horner faced an
opponent backed by the Cook County
Democratic organization. But the parallels
are limited, because Howlett is a much
tougher opponent than the doctor who ran
against Horner.
Horner and the Kelly-Nash organization
of Cook County had been feuding well
before primary time. It had been generally
expected that Chicago Mayor Edward J.
Kelly would back the popular Bruce Campbell of Belleville to oppose Horner, Tom
Littlewood writes in his book, Horner of
Illinois (Northwestern University Press,
1969). The choice of Dr. Herman N.
Bundesen, the Chicago health commissioner, was a blunder, in Littlewood's view. The
action of the Democratic state central
committee last December in passing over
another popular Belleville politician. State
Treasurer Alan J. Dixon, to oppose Walker
(and slating Dixon instead for secretary of
state) may suggest a parallel to 1936 —
except that there is little resemblance between Howlett, who was chosen, and Bundesen.
Participation in Illinois primaries 1934-1974
|
1934 |
R |
966,246 |
1956 |
R |
877,578 |
| |
D |
1,167,977 |
|
D |
961,999 |
|
1936 |
R |
1,077,295 |
1958 |
R |
762,886 |
| |
D |
1,597,418 |
|
D |
831,502 |
|
1938 |
R |
806,637 |
1960 |
R |
911,179 |
| |
D |
1,744,005 |
|
D |
1,171,488 |
|
1940 |
R |
1,143,761 |
1962 |
R |
938,532 |
| |
D |
1,503,706 |
|
D |
1,171,443 |
|
1942 |
R |
936,654 |
1964 |
R |
1,092,621 |
| |
D |
1,026,644 |
|
D |
1,062,320 |
|
1944 |
R |
793,198 |
1966 |
R |
731,305 |
| |
D |
635,487 |
|
D |
1,060,189 |
|
1946 |
R |
789,836 |
1968 |
R |
739,675 |
| |
D |
741,821 |
|
D |
833,478 |
|
1948 |
R |
904,010 |
1970 |
R |
750,625 |
| |
D |
745,645 |
|
D |
819,692 |
|
1950 |
R |
877.224 |
1972 |
R |
665,412 |
| |
D |
912,563 |
|
D |
1,563,193 |
|
1952 |
R |
1,397,356 |
1974 |
R |
643,573 |
| |
D |
894,991 |
|
D |
1,174,231 |
|
1954 |
R |
947,042 |
|
|
|
| |
D |
738,449 |
|
|
|
Bundesen was best known for a "baby
book" distributed to Chicago mothers.
Howlett's name has been before the voters of
Illinois since he unsuccessfully ran for state
auditor in 1956. He ran for the same office
successfully in 1960 and has held state office
since. As secretary of state (an office he has
held since 1972), he has had an equivalent to
the "baby book" — the special request auto
license plate. This year, an estimated 285,000
special requests were filled and possibly
three-fourths of these — 214,000 — were
pleased by the treatment received from the
secretary of state's office. Can these people
be counted on to express their appreciation
by voting for Hewlett? Not all of them will
vote in the Democratic primary, but of those
who do so, it seems reasonable that they will
favor Mike over Dan. This could be enough to overcome Walker's winning margin in
1972 when the primary vote was:
|
|
Dan Walker |
Paul Simon |
|
Cook County |
435,484 |
456,441 |
|
Downstate |
299,709 |
238,459 |
|
Total |
735,193 |
694,900 |
Walker's plurality was 40,293, which is
about 2 per cent of the votes cast in the
Democratic primary — a slim margin. Here,
for the sake of comparisons, is the vote for
governor in 1972 in the Republican primary:
|
|
Richard B. Ogilvie |
John Mathis |
|
Cook County |
141,703 |
31,165 |
|
Downstate |
300,620 |
111,888 |
|
Total |
442,323 |
143,053 |
In 1936, Horner won by a plurality of
161,092 (Horner, 820,313; Bundesen,
659,221). Horner carried downstate by a
plurality of 317,105, while Bundesen did not
do as well as expected in Cook County with a
plurality of 159,013, "less than half the
350,000 Kelly had thought he could realistically bank on," according to Littlewood.
The primary took place on April 14.
The 1936 primary was the high watermark
for primary participation in Illinois in the
last 40 years, as shown by the table.
Although the state's population has grown
almost 40 per cent from 1936 to the present,
the primary vote in 1972 was 20 per cent
below that of 1936. But a spirited contest this
year could set a new mark.
12 / March 1976 / Illinois Issues