# 2010 Illinois gubernatorial election

Elections in Illinois :
Federal government
U.S. Presidential elections
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
Dem
Rep
1988
1992
1996
Dem
Rep
2000
Dem
Rep
2004
Dem
Rep
2008
Dem
Rep
2012
Dem
Rep
2016
Dem
Rep
2020
Dem
Rep
2024
Dem
Rep
U.S. Senate elections
1818
1819
1823
1824
1824 sp
1825
1830 sp
1831
1835
1837
1843
1846
1849
1849 sp
1853
1859
1861
1863 sp
1867
1879
1882
1885
1885 sp
1887 sp
1888
1890
1894
1896
1897
1901
1903
1907
1909
1913
1913 sp
1914
1918
1920
1924
1926
1928 sp
1930
1932
1936
1938
1940 sp
1942
1944
1948
1950
1954
1956
1960
1962
1966
1968
1970 sp
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1996
1998
2002
2004
2008
2010
2010 sp
2014
2016
2020
2022
2026
U.S. House elections
1818
1819
1820
1822
1824
1826
1828
1831
1832
1834
1836
1838
1840
1842
1844
1846
1848
1850
1852
1854
1856
1858
1859
6th sp
1860
1861
6th sp
1862
1864
1866
1868
1870
1871
AL sp
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1895
10th sp
18th sp
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
4th sp
1920
1922
AL sp
1923
2nd sp
4th sp
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
19th sp
1946
1948
1950
1952
1953
7th sp
1954
1956
1957
7th sp
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1969
13th sp
1970
6th sp
1972
15th sp
1973
7th sp
1974
1975
5th sp
1976
1978
1980
10th sp
1982
1983
1st sp
1984
1985
14th sp
1986
1988
21st sp
1990
1991
15th sp
1992
1994
1995
2nd sp
1996
1998
2000
1st
2002
2004
2006
2008
14th sp
2009
5th sp
2010
17th
2012
2013
2nd sp
2014
2015
18th sp
2016
2018
2020
2022
1st
2024 :
State government
General elections
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1969
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Gubernatorial elections
1818
1822
1826
1830
1834
1838
1842
1846
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Lieutenant Gubernatorial elections
1818
1822
1826
1830
1834
1838
1842
1846
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
Attorney General elections
2018
2022
Secretary of State elections
2022
Comptroller elections
2016
Senate elections
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
1964
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Judicial elections
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Ballot measures and referendums
State capitol referendum (1834)
Cutback Amendment (1980)
Crime Victim Rights Amendment (1992)
Illinois Governor Recall Amendment (2010)
Public Pension Amendment (2012)
Marsy's Law (2014)
Right to Vote Amendment (2014)
Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment (2016)
Fair Tax (2020)
Right to Collective Bargaining Amendment (2022) :
Chicago
General elections
2019
2023
Mayoral elections
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863
1865
1867
1869
1871
1873
1876
1877
1879
1881
1883
1885
1887
1889
1891
1893
1893 sp
1895
1897
1899
1901
1903
1905
1907
1911
1915
1919
1923
1927
1931
1935
1939
1943
1947
1951
1955
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975
1977 sp
1979
1983
1987
1989 sp
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
2027
Aldermanic elections
1923
1925
1927
1929
2011
2015
2019
2023
Chicago Board of Education elections
2024
2026 :
Cook County
County elections
1946
1980
State's Attorney
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
vte :
The 2010 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor Pat Quinn was elected to a full term in office, having become governor in 2009 following the impeachment and removal of Governor Rod Blagojevich. Quinn was elected as the Democratic nominee, the Illinois Green Party nominee was attorney and 2006 nominee Rich Whitney, the Republican nominee was State Senator Bill Brady, the Libertarian Party nominee was Lex Green, and Scott Lee Cohen ran as an independent.
Quinn was elected to a full term in a very close race, defeating Brady by only about 32,000 votes with Brady carrying 98 of the state's 102 counties. Prior to the general election, the primary election in February 2010 featured extremely close races between candidates for the two largest parties' nominations. Quinn warded off a challenge by Comptroller Dan Hynes by a margin of about 8,300 votes, while Brady won the Republican nomination on the strength of fewer than 200 votes in a fractured seven-way race. This was the first time Gallatin County went Republican for the governor level since 1920. The election marked the first time since 1852 that the Democrats won three consecutive gubernatorial elections in Illinois. This is also the first gubernatorial election since 1990 in which the winner was of the same party as the incumbent president.

## Background

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for federal elections (Senate and House), as well as those for other state offices. The election was part of the 2010 Illinois elections.
For the primaries, turnout for the gubernatorial primaries was 22.21%, with 1,688,297 votes cast and turnout for the lieutenant gubernatorial primaries was 20.10% with 1,527,782 votes cast. For the general election, turnout was 49.69%, with 3,729,989 votes cast.

## Democratic primaries

Quinn defeated Hynes by just under 9,000 votes, while Cohen won an upset over establishment candidates by just over 3% campaigning as a political outsider.

### Governor
#### Candidates

* Daniel Hynes, Illinois State Comptroller and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2004
* Pat Quinn, incumbent governor

#### Debates

Democratic candidates Quinn and Hynes debated on January 19. WSIU Public Broadcasting (WSIU (FM)/WSIU-TV) at Southern Illinois University and Illinois Public Media (WILL AM/FM/TV) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign also co-sponsored two gubernatorial primary election debates. Pat Quinn and Dan Hynes debated on January 21, 2010.

#### Polling

| Poll source | Dates administered | Pat Quinn | Lisa Madigan | Dan Hynes | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | January 26, 2010 | 40% | – | 41% | 19% |
| Chicago Tribune | January 16–20, 2010 | 44% | – | 40% | 15% |
| Chicago Tribune | December 2–8, 2009 | 49% | – | 23% | 23% |
| Simon Public Policy | October 16, 2009 | 33.9% | – | 16.5% | 35.4% |
| Public Policy Polling | April 24–26, 2009 | 29% | 45% | – | 26% |

#### Results

Democratic gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Pat Quinn (incumbent) | 462,049 | 50.46 |
| | Democratic | Daniel Hynes | 453,677 | 49.54 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 915,726 | 100.00 |

### Lieutenant governor
#### Candidates

* Mike Boland, member of the Illinois House of Representatives
* Thomas Michael Castillo
* Scott Lee Cohen, Pawnbroker
* Rickey R. Hendon, Illinois State Senator
* Terry Link, Illinois State Senator
* Arthur Turner, member of the Illinois House of Representatives

#### Results

Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Scott Lee Cohen | 213,475 | 25.97 |
| | Democratic | Arthur Turner | 183,208 | 22.29 |
| | Democratic | Rickey R. Hendon | 113,690 | 13.83 |
| | Democratic | Mike Boland | 105,867 | 12.88 |
| | Democratic | Thomas Michael Castillo | 105,383 | 12.82 |
| | Democratic | Terry Link | 100,335 | 12.21 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 821,958 | 100.00 |

#### Aftermath

Scott Lee Cohen was replaced as the Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial nominee by former Carbondale City Councilwoman Sheila Simon after he withdrew due to allegations of abuse toward his wife and other charges.

## Republican primaries

As on the Democratic side, both the gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial primaries were extremely close, though moreso. Brady defeated Dillard by 0.02%, while Plummer defeated Murphy by just 0.65%.

### Governor
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* Adam Andrzejewski, businessman
* Bill Brady, State Senator and candidate for governor in 2006
* Kirk Dillard, State Senator
* Andy McKenna, businessman, former chairman of the Republican Party of Illinois and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2004
* Dan Proft, political commentator
* Jim Ryan, former Attorney General of Illinois and nominee for governor in 2002

##### Withdrew

* Bob Schillerstrom, chairman of the DuPage County Board

#### Results

Republican gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Bill Brady | 155,527 | 20.26 |
| | Republican | Kirk Dillard | 155,334 | 20.24 |
| | Republican | Andy McKenna | 148,054 | 19.29 |
| | Republican | Jim Ryan | 130,785 | 17.04 |
| | Republican | Adam Andrzejewski | 111,030 | 14.47 |
| | Republican | Dan Proft | 59,335 | 7.73 |
| | Republican | Bob Schillerstrom | 7,420 | 0.97 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 767,485 | 100.00 |

### Lieutenant governor
#### Candidates

* Dennis W. Cook, President of Consolidated District 230 Board of Education
* Brad Cole, mayor of Carbondale
* Matt Murphy, Illinois State Senator
* Jason Plummer, chairman of the Madison County Republican Party
* Don Tracy, corporate attorney
* Randy A. White Sr., Hancock County Commissioner

#### Withdrawn

* Dave Winters, Illinois State Representative

#### Results

Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jason Plummer | 238,169 | 33.98 |
| | Republican | Matt Murphy | 233,572 | 33.33 |
| | Republican | Don Tracy | 80,116 | 11.43 |
| | Republican | Brad Cole | 61,317 | 8.75 |
| | Republican | Dennis W. Cook | 55,339 | 7.90 |
| | Republican | Randy A. White Sr. | 32,343 | 4.61 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 700,856 | 100.00 |

## Green primaries
### Governor
#### Candidates

* Rich Whitney, nominee for governor in 2006

#### Results

Green Party primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Green | Rich Whitney | 5,086 | 100.00 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,086 | 100.00 |

### Lieutenant governor
#### Candidates

* Don Crawford

#### Results

Green lieutenant gubernatorial primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Green | Don W. Crawford | 4,968 | 33.98 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 4,968 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Candidates

* Pat Quinn (Democratic) (campaign website): Incumbent governor who assumed office after the impeachment of Rod Blagojevich; sought a full term in 2010. Quinn was previously Revenue Director for the City of Chicago, state treasurer (1990–1994), and an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator (1996), Illinois Secretary of State (1994), and lieutenant governor (1998).
* Bill Brady (Republican) (campaign website): state senator, real estate and construction businessman, unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for governor in 2006
* Rich Whitney (Green): Illinois Green Party's 2006 nominee for governor
* Lex Green (Libertarian) (archived campaign website): Secretary of the McLean County Libertarian Party
* Scott Lee Cohen (Independent): former Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2010 who was replaced by Sheila Simon after withdrawing due to allegations of abuse toward his wife and other charges. Cohen was reported to have been in a private meeting with Speaker Michael Madigan discussing his plan for running against Quinn.

### Campaign

After the February 2 Democratic primary in which incumbent Governor Pat Quinn was nominated, attention was drawn to Scott Lee Cohen, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. Illinois law required that candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run in separate primary elections, but run as a ticket in the November general election. Cohen was criticized for his having been charged with domestic battery, in which he was accused of holding a knife to the throat of an ex-girlfriend who was also a convicted prostitute. Cohen was also accused by his ex-wife of physical abuse and using illegally obtained anabolic steroids. Quinn and Dick Durbin, Illinois's senior U.S. Senator, both said that Cohen should withdraw his candidacy, which he did on February 7. Cohen ran as an independent candidate for the office of governor against Quinn.
On March 27, 2010, the Democratic State Central Committee chose a replacement candidate, Sheila Simon. Dan Hynes, who placed second in the gubernatorial primary, denied interest in replacing Cohen on the ticket. Other names suggested included State Representative Art Turner, who placed second to Cohen in the Democratic primary and then finished second to Simon in committee balloting on March 27, 2010; State Senators Rickey Hendon and Terry Link, State Representative Mike Boland, and electrician Thomas Castillo, all of whom also ran in the primary; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs official Tammy Duckworth; and State Representative Julie Hamos were suggested as possible replacements. Jeff Melvin, a 21-year retired army veteran, also applied to the open nominating call for the Democratic lieutenant governor position.
At one point during the campaign, Quinn, struggling to make up ground amidst poor polling numbers against Brady, accused his Republican opponent of supporting a bill to kill puppies. In fact, the bill regulated shelters' practices when they euthanize animals. Quinn struggled to shake off Blagojevich's scandals, leading to poor approval ratings throughout the campaign, despite Quinn denouncing Blagojevich. Quinn trailed Brady by more than 10 points at times, despite Illinois being a deeply Democratic state.
A central issue in the campaign was the state income tax. Quinn advocated for a one percentage point – or 33 percent – increase in the state's income tax to primarily fund education, while Brady called for a 10 percent across the board cut in state government and placing the State Board of Education under the governor's control.

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| Cook Political Report | Tossup | October 14, 2010 |
| Rothenberg | Tilt R (flip) | October 28, 2010 |
| RealClearPolitics | Tossup | November 1, 2010 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean R (flip) | October 28, 2010 |
| CQ Politics | Lean D | October 28, 2010 |

### Polling

| Poll source | Dates administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Pat Quinn (D) | Bill Brady (R) | Rich Whitney (G) | Other | Unde- cided |
| Fox News | October 23, 2010 | 1,000 | ± 3.0% | 39% | 44% | 4% | 7% | 6% |
| Chicago Tribune | October 18–22, 2010 | 700 | ± 3.7% | 39% | 43% | 4% | 7% | 6% |
| Rasmussen Reports | October 20, 2010 | 750 | ± 4.0% | 37% | 45% | 2% | 7% | 8% |
| Rasmussen Reports (report) | October 12, 2010 | 750 | ± 4.5% | 40% | 46% | 2% | 9% | 3% |
| Southern Illinois University | September 30 – October 10, 2010 | — | ± 3.5% | 29.8% | 38.4% | 2.2% | 5.9% | - |
| Rasmussen Reports (report) | October 4, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 38% | 46% | 4% | 5% | 8% |
| Suffolk University (report) | September 30 – October 3, 2010 | 500 | ±4.4% | 43% | 37% | 3% | 8% | 8% |
| (Public Policy Polling) | September 30, 2010 | 470 | ±4.5% | 35% | 42% | 4% | 8% | 11% |
| Chicago Tribune (report) | September 24–28, 2010 | 600 | ±4% | 39% | 38% | 3% | 8% | 12% |
| CNN/TIME (report) | September 24–28, 2010 | 1,504 | ±2.5% | 38% | 40% | 4% | 16% | 2% |
| We Ask America | September 13, 2010 | 1,050 | ±2.70% | 32% | 42% | 4% | – | 16% |
| Rasmussen Reports (report) | September 12, 2010 | 750 | ±4.0% | 37% | 50% | 4% | 7% | 3% |
| Chicago Tribune (report) | Aug. 28 – Sept. 1, 2010 | 600 | ±4.0% | 32% | 37% | 2% | – | 19% |
| Rasmussen Reports (report) | August 23, 2010 | 750 | ±4.0% | 37% | 46% | – | 6% | 11% |
| Public Policy Polling (report) | August 14–15, 2010 | 576 | ±4.1% | 30% | 39% | 11% | – | 6% |
| Rasmussen Reports (report) | August 9, 2010 | 750 | ±4.0% | 35% | 48% | – | 6% | 12% |
| Rasmussen Reports (report) | July 27, 2010 | 750 | ±4.0% | 37% | 44% | – | 11% | 9% |
| Rasmussen Reports (report) | July 7, 2010 | 500 | ±4.5% | 40% | 43% | – | 9% | 8% |
| Public Policy Polling (report) | June 12–13, 2010 | 552 | ±4.2% | 30% | 34% | 9% | – | 27% |
| Rasmussen Reports (report) | June 7, 2010 | 500 | ±4.5% | 36% | 47% | – | 8% | 10% |
| Research 2000 (report) | May 3–5, 2010 | 600 | ±4.0% | 36% | 39% | – | – | 25% |
| We Ask America | May 2, 2010 | 1,050 | ±3.02% | 31.15% | 46.25% | 4.81% | – | 17.79% |
| Rasmussen Reports (report) | April 28, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 38% | 45% | – | 5% | 11% |
| Rasmussen Reports | April 8, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 38% | 45% | – | 7% | 10% |
| Public Policy Polling (report) | April 5, 2010 | 591 | ± 4.0% | 33% | 43% | – | – | 24% |
| We Ask America ( Archived January 26, 2016, at the Wayback Machine) | March 10, 2010 | 798 | 3.5% | 31.58% | 44.61% | 3.51% | – | 20.30% |
| Rasmussen Reports (report) | March 8, 2010 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 37% | 47% | – | 6% | 9% |
| Research 2000 (report) | February 22 –24, 2010 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 47% | 32% | – | 1% | 20% |
| The Illinois Poll | February 7, 2010 | 1,200 | ± 2.8% | 42% | 31% | – | 4% | 23% |
| Rasmussen Reports (report) | December 14, 2009 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 45% | 30% | – | 13% | 13% |

### Results

Even though Brady won 98 out of the 102 counties, Quinn narrowly prevailed. Brady won almost everywhere in the state, including all of the collar counties of the Chicago suburbs. Quinn initially had a large lead when results first began to come in, as heavily populated areas tend to report their votes faster. However, once the more suburban and rural areas came in Brady narrowed the gap significantly. Quinn's huge win in Cook County proved too much for Brady to overcome, however. Brady conceded defeat later the following day on November 3, when it became clear he would lose. Quinn's win was ranked by Politico as the 7th biggest upset of the 2010 elections.
2010 Illinois gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Pat Quinn (incumbent)/Sheila Simon | 1,745,219 | 46.79% | −3.00% |
| | Republican | Bill Brady/Jason Plummer | 1,713,385 | 45.94% | +6.68% |
| | Independent | Scott Lee Cohen | 135,705 | 3.64% | n/a |
| | Green | Rich Whitney/Donald Crawford | 100,756 | 2.70% | −7.66% |
| | Libertarian | Lex Green | 34,681 | 0.93% | n/a |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 3,729,746 | 100.00% | n/a |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Hamilton (Largest city: McLeansboro)
* Pope (Largest city: Golconda)
* Randolph (Largest city: Chester)
* Saline (Largest city: Harrisburg)
* Will (Largest city: Joliet)
* Williamson (Largest city: Marion)
* Winnebago (Largest city: Rockford)
* Franklin (Largest city: West Frankfort)
* LaSalle (Largest city: Ottawa)
* Boone (largest city: Belvidere)
* Madison (largest city: Granite City)
* Mercer (largest city: Aledo)
* Monroe (largest city: Waterloo)
* Calhoun (Largest village: Hardin)
* Fulton (Largest city: Canton)
* Henderson (Largest village: Oquawka)
* Knox (Largest city: Galesburg)
* Pulaski (Largest city: Mounds)
* Rock Island (largest city: Moline)
* Lake (largest city: Waukegan)
* Whiteside (largest city: Sterling)
* Perry (Largest city: Du Quoin)
* Union (Largest city: Anna)
* Jersey (Largest city: Jerseyville)
* Hardin (Largest city: Rosiclare)
* Massac (Largest city: Metropolis)
* Gallatin (largest city: Shawneetown)
* Putnam (largest city: Hennpin)

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Jackson (largest city: Carbondale)