The 1960 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 8, 1960.[1] Incumbent Democratic United States Senator Paul Douglas was reelected to a third term.
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 84.24% | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Douglas: 50–60% 60–70% Witwer: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Background
editThe primary (held on April 12) and general election coincided with those for other federal offices (President and House) and those for state elections.[1]
Turnout in the primaries was 32.98%, with a total of 1,678,954 votes cast.[1][2]
Turnout during the general election was 84.24%, with 4,632,796 votes cast.[1][2]
Democratic primary
editIncumbent Paul Douglas was renominated, running unopposed.
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Paul H. Douglas (Incumbent) | 916,951 | 100 | |
| Write-in | Others | 8 | 0.00 | |
| Total votes | 916,959 | 100 | ||
Republican primary
editSamuel W. Witwer won a crowded Republican primary. Witwer was an attorney known for his work on both state and federal constitutional reforms.[3]
Candidates
edit- John R. Harrell
- John W. Lewis Jr., Illinois State Senator
- William H. Rentschler, newspaper publisher[4]
- Samuel W. Witwer, attorney[3]
- Warren E. Wright, former Illinois Treasurer
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Samuel W. Witwer | 249,849 | 32.79 | |
| Republican | Warren E. Wright | 226,449 | 29.72 | |
| Republican | William H. Rentschler | 202,600 | 26.59 | |
| Republican | John W. Lewis, Jr. | 48,989 | 6.43 | |
| Republican | John R. Harrell | 34,106 | 4.48 | |
| Write-in | Others | 2 | 0.00 | |
| Total votes | 761,995 | 100 | ||
Socialist Labor nomination
editThe Socialist Labor Party of America nominated Louis Fisher.
General election
editResults
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Paul H. Douglas (Incumbent) | 2,530,943 | 54.63% | |
| Republican | Samuel W. Witwer | 2,093,846 | 45.20% | |
| Socialist Labor | Louis Fisher | 8,007 | 0.17% | |
| Majority | 437,097 | 9.43% | ||
| Turnout | 4,632,796 | |||
| Democratic hold | ||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION, NOVEMBER 8, 1960 JUDICIAL ELECTION 1959-1960 • PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, APRIL 12 1960" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 4, 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 10, 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Samuel W. Witwer Sr., 90, attorney known..." chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. September 20, 1998. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ^ "WILLIAM H. RENTSCHLER: 1925-2009". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. December 24, 2009. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1960" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved April 30, 2019.