United States Senate election in Illinois, 1978
United States Senate election in Illinois, 1978
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| Elections in Illinois |
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Presidential elections |
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U.S. Senate elections |
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State Senate elections |
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Mayoral elections |
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Council elections |
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The 1978 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Republican United States Senator Charles H. Percy ran for re-election to a third term in the United States Senate. Percy was opposed by Democratic nominee Alex Seith, an attorney who had been appointed to several local government positions. Though Percy had been expected to coast to re-election over Seith, a first-time candidate, the election quickly became competitive. In the last few days of the campaign, a desperate Percy ran a television advertisement that featured him apologizing and acknowledging that, "I got your message and you're right."[1] Percy's last-ditch effort appeared to have paid off, as he was able to edge out Seith to win what would end up being his last term in the Senate.
General election
Candidates
Results
United States Senate election in Illinois, 1978[2]
| Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
± |
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Republican |
Charles H. Percy (inc.) |
1,698,711 |
53.34% |
-8.88% |
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Democratic |
Alex Seith |
1,448,187 |
45.47% |
+8.13% |
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Libertarian |
Bruce Lee Green |
16,320 |
0.51% |
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Socialist Workers |
Patricia Grogan |
15,922 |
0.50% |
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Socialist Labor |
Gerald Rose |
5,465 |
0.17% |
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Write-ins |
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159 |
0.00% |
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| Majority |
250,524 |
7.87% |
-17.00% |
| Turnout |
3,184,764 |
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Republican hold |
Swing |
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References
