1978Final results
1978 election for Illinois Legislative District 5
Illinois State Senate · Illinois
Richard A. Walsh (R) won with 59.9% of the vote, defeating William J. Francione (D) by 19.7 points.
Richard A. WalshRepublican · winner · incumbent
59.9%28,073
William J. FrancioneDemocrat
40.1%18,817
46,890 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1978
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET