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1992 United States Senate election in Illinois

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The 1992 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 3, 1992. Incumbent Senator Alan J. Dixon decided to run for re-election a third term, but he was defeated in the Democratic primary by Carol Moseley Braun, who won the general election. Until 2022, this was the last time a single party won Illinois's Class 3 Senate seat in two or more consecutive elections.

1992 United States Senate election in Illinois
← 1986 November 3, 1992 1998 →
Turnout74.84%
 
Nominee Carol Moseley Braun Richard S. Williamson
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 2,631,229 2,162,833
Percentage 53.27% 43.06%
County results

Moseley Braun:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Williamson:      40–50%      50–60%
U.S. senator before election

Alan J. Dixon
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Carol Moseley Braun
Democratic

Braun, whose victory coincided with Bill Clinton's win in Illinois and the overall presidential election, made history in this election by becoming the first African American woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate, and also the first African American elected to the Senate as a Democrat. Braun was also both the first African American and the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from the state of Illinois.

Primaries were held March 17.[1]

Background

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The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal elections (president and House), as well as those for state offices.[1][2]

For the primaries, turnout was 35.20%, with 2,064,347 votes cast.[1] For the general election, turnout was 74.84%, with 4,939,557 votes cast.[2]

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Democratic Primary, United States Senate, 1992[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Carol Moseley Braun 557,694 38.3%
Democratic Alan J. Dixon (incumbent) 504,077 34.6%
Democratic Albert Hofeld 394,497 27.1%
Total votes 1,456,268 100.0%
 
Democratic primary results by county
  Moseley Braun
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  Dixon
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  Hofeld
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%

Analysis

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This defeat shocked observers; at the time no senator had been defeated in a primary in over a decade and Dixon had a long record of electoral success. He was a moderate Democrat who recently voted to confirm Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.[4] Braun, a black woman and known reformist liberal, got a large share of black, liberal, and women voters ("The Year of the Woman").

In addition, she carried Cook County, Illinois, by far the most populated county in the state. Another factor was the third candidate in the race, multi-millionaire attorney Al Hofeld. Hofeld drew away some of the moderate and conservative Democrats who normally supported Dixon. He also spent a lot of money running advertisements attacking Dixon, weakening his support.

Republican primary

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Richard S. Williamson ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

Republican Primary, United States Senate, 1992[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Richard S. Williamson 608,079 100.00%
Total votes 608,079 100.00%

General election

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Candidates

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Major

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Minor

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  • Kathleen Kaku (SW)
  • Chad Koppie (I)
  • Alan J. Port (NA)
  • Andrew B. Spiegel (L)
  • Charles A. Winter (NL)

Results

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Moseley Braun won the 1992 Illinois Senate Race by a fairly comfortable margin. Moseley Braun did well as expected in Cook County home of Chicago. Williamson did well in the Chicago collar counties, and most northern parts of the state. Moseley Braun had a surprisingly strong showing in southern Illinois, which Republicans had come to dominate in the last several decades. Braun also did well in Rock Island County.

1992 Illinois U.S. Senate Election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Carol Moseley Braun 2,631,229 53.27
Republican Richard S. Williamson 2,126,833 43.06
Independent Chad Koppie 100,422 2.03
Libertarian Andrew B. Spiegel 34,527 0.70
Natural Law Charles A. Winter 15,118 0.31
New Alliance Alan J. Port 12,689 0.26
Socialist Workers Kathleen Kaku 10,056 0.20
Populist John Justice 8,656 0.16
Write-in Don A. Togersen 25 0.00
Write-in Walter A. Feiss 1 0.00
Write-in Roe Conn 1 0.00
Turnout 4,939,557 74.84
Democratic hold Swing

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "State of Illinois official vote cast at the primary election held on ..." Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "State of Illinois official vote cast at the general election ." Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "United States Senator". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  4. ^ Charles Babington and Dan Balz (August 17, 2005). "Democrats Feel Heat From Left On Roberts". The Washington Post. Washington Post Company. p. A01. Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice, said [...] 'History shows us that voters turned on Alan Dixon for his vote on Clarence Thomas and voters gave Arlen Specter the toughest reelection of his life.'
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