1982Final results
1982 election for Illinois Governor
Governor · Illinois
James R. Thompson (R) won with 50.1% of the vote, defeating Adlai E. Stevenson II (D) by 0.1 points.
James R. ThompsonRepublican · winner
50.1%1,816,101
Adlai E. Stevenson IIDemocrat
49.9%1,811,027
3,627,128 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 1982
Races before and after
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET