# 1994 Illinois gubernatorial election

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vte :
The 1994 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Republican Governor Jim Edgar won reelection in the largest landslide in over a century, after the elections of 1818 and 1848.
Edgar carried 101 of the state's 102 counties over the Democratic nominee, State Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch, with Netsch only winning Gallatin County by a narrow margin. This was the first time in Illinois that a woman was a major party's nominee for governor, with 2006 being the only other time.
To date, this is the most recent statewide election in which Cook County voted for a Republican candidate, a Republican governor won a second term in Illinois, and the last time any gubernatorial candidate received over 60% of the vote.

## Background

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for congress, as well as those for other state offices. The election was part of the 1994 Illinois elections.
The 1994 midterm elections saw a strong showing by the Republican Party, which was dubbed the "Republican Revolution".
For the primaries, turnout for the gubernatorial primaries was 29.16%, with 1,794,357 votes cast and turnout for the lieutenant gubernatorial primaries was 23.44% with 1,442,160 votes cast. For the general election, turnout was 50.77%, with 3,106,556 votes cast.

## Democratic primaries
### Governor
#### Candidates

* Roland Burris, Illinois Attorney General
* James Elroy Gierach
* Sheila A. Jones, perennial candidate
* Dawn Clark Netsch, Illinois Comptroller
* Richard Phelan, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners

#### Results

Democratic gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Dawn Clark Netsch | 487,364 | 44.35 |
| | Democratic | Roland W. Burris | 401,142 | 36.50 |
| | Democratic | Richard Phelan | 160,576 | 14.61 |
| | Democratic | James Elroy Gierach | 26,752 | 2.43 |
| | Democratic | Sheila A. Jones | 23,191 | 2.11 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,099,025 | 100.00 |

### Lieutenant governor
#### Candidates

* Anthony P. Harper
* Penny Severns, Illinois State Senator
* Sheila Smith
Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Penny Severns | 406,510 | 45.75 |
| | Democratic | Sheila Smith | 366,760 | 41.27 |
| | Democratic | Anthony P. Harper | 115,347 | 12.98 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 888,617 | 100 |

## Republican primaries
### Governor
#### Candidates

* Jim Edgar, incumbent governor
* Jack Roeser, businessman

#### Results

Republican gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jim Edgar (incumbent) | 521,590 | 75.01 |
| | Republican | Jack Roeser | 173,742 | 23.89 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 695,332 | 100.00 |

### Lieutenant governor
#### Candidates

* Bob Kustra, incumbent lieutenant governor

#### Results

Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Bob Kustra (incumbent) | 553,543 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 553,543 | 100 |

## General election
### Polling

| Source | Date | Jim Edgar (R) | Dawn Clark Netsch (D) |
| Chicago Tribune | October 30, 1994 | 60% | 25% |
| Chicago Tribune | October 23, 1994 | 61% | 22% |

### Results

1994 gubernatorial election, Illinois :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Jim Edgar (incumbent) | 1,984,318 | 63.9 | +13.1 |
| | Democratic | Dawn Clark Netsch | 1,069,850 | 34.4 | −13.8 |
| | Libertarian | David L. Kelley | 52,388 | 1.69 | +1.69 |
| | N/A | write-ins | 10 | 0.0 | n−a |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 914,468 | 29.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,106,556 | 50.77 | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Swing | | |