1970 United States Senate special election in Illinois

1970 United States Senate special election in Illinois

November 3, 1970
Turnout	67.43%
Nominee Adlai Stevenson III Ralph Tyler Smith Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,065,054 1,519,718 Percentage 57.37% 42.22%
County results Stevenson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Smith:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
U.S. senator before election Ralph Tyler Smith Republican Elected U.S. senator Adlai Stevenson III Democratic

The 1970 United States Senate special election in Illinois was held on November 3, 1970,[1] to fill the remainder of the term of Republican Everett Dirksen, who had died in office. Republican Ralph Tyler Smith had been appointed to fill the seat after Dirksen's death, and he lost the special election to Democrat Adlai Stevenson III. This election was the third consecutive time in which a United States Senate election in Illinois took place two years after a previous United States Senate election in Illinois after 1966 and 1968.

Background

The primaries and general election coincided with those for House and state elections.

Primaries were held on March 17.[1][2] Turnout in the primary elections was 26.28%, with a total of 1,381,147 votes cast.[1] Turnout during the general election was 67.43%, with 3,599,272 votes cast.[1]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Lar "America First" Daly, perennial candidate
• William H. Rentschler, chair of the Richard Nixon 1968 presidential campaign in Illinois
• Ralph Tyler Smith, interim Senator since 1969 and former Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives

Campaign

Rentschler accused Smith of acquiring the Senate seat through a corrupt deal with Governor Richard Ogilvie. Smith himself denied the charge, pointing out that Ogilvie declined to support him in the primary.[3]

Rentschler also criticized Vice President Spiro Agnew and Senator Charles Percy for endorsing Smith, arguing that party leaders should stay out of the primary race.[3] Rentschler had previously worked on campaigns for Percy and Agnew in 1964 and 1968, respectively.[4]

Results

Republican primary[1][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ralph Tyler Smith (incumbent)	414,489	58.84
	Republican	William H. Rentschler	271,648	38.57
	Republican	Lar "America First" Daly	18,244	2.59
	Write-in	Others	16	0.00
Total votes			704,397	100

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Adlai Stevenson III, Illinois Treasurer and son of Adlai Stevenson II

Democratic primary[1][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adlai E. Stevenson, III	676,689	99.99
	Write-in	Others	61	0.01
Total votes			676,750	100

General election

General election[1][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adlai Stevenson III	2,065,054	57.37%
	Republican	Ralph Tyler Smith (incumbent)	1,519,718	42.22%
	Socialist Workers	Lynn Henderson	8,859	0.25%
	Socialist Labor	Louis Fisher	5,564	0.15%
	None	Scattering	77	0.00%
Majority			545,336	15.15%
Turnout			3,599,272
	Democratic gain from Republican

References

1. "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 3, 1970 JUDICIAL • MEMBERS OF CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION PRIMARY AND GENERAL • PROPOSED 1970 CONSTITUTION • SPECIAL ELECTIONS • PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, MARCH, 17, 1970" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 22, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
2. Illinois Blue Book 1969-1970. Illinois Secretary of State. p. 854. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
3. Stegeman, Richard L.; Cox, Bill (March 9, 1970). "Stevenson, Rentschler, Smith: Senate Hopefuls Sound Off". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. p. 3. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
4. "Percy Rapped by Rentschler for Giving Support to Smith". The Chicago Tribune. January 25, 1970. p. 20. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
5. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1970" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. p. 7. Retrieved March 13, 2015.