1976Final results
1976 election for Illinois Governor
Governor · Illinois
James R. Thompson (R) won with 65.1% of the vote, defeating Michael J. Howlett (D) by 30.2 points.
James R. ThompsonRepublican · winner
65.1%3,000,395
Michael J. HowlettDemocrat
34.9%1,606,989
4,607,384 votes
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1976
Races before and after
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET