The 1976 United States presidential election in Illinois was held on November 2, 1976. All 50 states and The District of Columbia, were part of the 1976 United States presidential election. State voters chose 26 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

By the second week of September, polls were showing Jimmy Carter ahead of incumbent President Gerald Ford by 14% but running much weaker in the emerging Rust Belt industrial states;Harris, Louis. 'Carter leads Ford, 53—39: Harris Survey'; The Boston Globe, September 9, 1976, p. 23 his lead in Illinois was estimated at four percentage points.Broder, David; 'Carter still for firing FBI chief'; The Boston Globe, September 10, 1976, p. 13 A few days later, another poll had Ford already ahead in Illinois,'Ford buoyed by new polls in Michigan, Kansas'; The Boston Globe, September 13, 1976, p. 8 but another poll had him narrowly behind.Cannon, Lou; 'Ford's Campaign Strategy: Stress Consistency, Record'; The Washington Post, September 15, 1976, p. A4 Defeated Republican primary candidate and future President Ronald Reagan helped Ford in his fall campaign in Illinois,'Lydon, Christopher; Reagan Is Too Busy to Aid Ford in 5 States'; The New York Times, September 20, 1976, p. 22 although Carter preceded him in visiting the state, doing so for the first time on September 24.Wicker, Tom; 'Carter in Illinois'; The New York Times, September 24, 1976, p. 25 Ford's running mate Bob Dole followed Carter to the state and said that Carter had "three positions on every issue" during a tour through Rock Island, Quincy, and Decatur. At this time, it was also thought that Ford was helped by the strong GOP gubernatorial campaign of James R. Thompson.Kneeland, Douglas E.; 'Dole Is Stepping Up Attacks on Carter: Kansas Senator, Stumping in Ohio and Illinois, Says Democrat Has 3 Positions on Every Issue'; New York Times, September 29, 1976, p. 22

At the beginning of October, Illinois was viewed as "too close to call".Apple, R.W.; 'Poll Shows Carter Is Ahead in States Needed for Victory'; The New York Times, October 3, 1976, p. 1 Carter paid a second visit to the state with the support of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, which was viewed essential to his chances of carrying the state's electoral votes due to the coolness of the northern and central parts of the state toward a Southern Evangelical Democrat.Evans, Rowland and Novak, Robert; 'Carter's Illinois Strategy'; The Washington Post, October 8, 1976, p. A25 Carter would subsequently move ahead, but the state remained very close as election day neared, with South Side black voters considered a critical aspect of Carter's hopes.Kaiser, Robert; 'Black Vote Could Carry Carter to Victory'; The Boston Globe, October 28, 1976, p. 2

Ford won Illinois with 50.10 percent of the vote but lost the general election to Carter. Illinois' result was 4% more Republican than the nation at large, and this was the last presidential election where it was more Republican than the rest of the country. It was also the most recent presidential election where a Democrat won the White House without carrying Illinois, and the first time a Democrat did so in 60 years, since Woodrow Wilson won reelection in 1916.

Primaries The primaries and general elections coincided with those for congress and those for state offices.

Turnout Turnout in the primary election was 36.29%, with a total of 2,087,807 votes cast.

Turnout in the general election was 75.47%, with a total of 4,719,304 votes cast. State-run primaries were held for the Democratic and Republican parties on March 16.

Democratic

The 1976 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on March 16, 1976, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Democratic Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1976 presidential election.

The popular vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct-vote in each congressional district on delegate candidates, who had either pledged to support a candidate or been uncommitted.

The popular vote of the "beauty contest" saw a plurality won by Jimmy Carter.

While he was not a candidate for the popular vote, in the vote for delegates a plurality of the state's delegates were won by delegates supporting favorite son Adlai Stevenson III, with Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter placing second.Kraft, Joseph; 'Can Carter Unify the Democrats'; The Boston Globe, June 11, 1976, p. 15 Stevenson was used as a stand-in by Richard M. Daley to get otherwise uncommitted delegates elected.

+1976 Democratic presidential primaryCandidateVotes %DelegatesJimmy Carter630,91548.0953George C. Wallace361,79827.583Sargent Shriver214,02416.310Fred R. Harris98,8627.540Write-ins6,3150.480Adlai Stevenson III85Hubert Humphrey6Dan Walker4Uncommitted18Totals1,311,914100169

Republican

The 1976 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on March 16, 1976, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1976 presidential election.

The popular vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct-vote in each congressional district on delegate candidates who had either pledged to support a candidate or indicated their intent to enter the convention uncommitted.

+1976 Republican presidential primaryCandidateVotes%DelegatesGerald R. Ford (incumbent)456,75058.8770Ronald Reagan311,29540.1213Lar "America First" Daly7,5820.980Write-ins2660.030Uncommitted13Totals775,89310096

Results

Presidential Candidate Running Mate Party Electoral Vote (EV) Popular Vote (PV) Gerald Ford (incumbent) Robert Dole Republican 26 2,364,269 50.10% Jimmy Carter Walter Mondale Democratic 0 2,271,295 48.13% Eugene McCarthy John Clay Independent 0 55,939 1.19% Gus Hall Jarvis Tyner Communist 0 9,250 0.20% Roger MacBride David Bergland Libertarian 0 8,057 0.17% Peter Camejo Willie Mae Reid Socialist Workers 0 3,615 0.08% Julius Levin Constance Blomen Socialist Labor 0 2,422 0.05% Lyndon LaRouche R. Wayne Evans U.S. Labor 0 2,018 0.04% Ronald Reagan (write-in) 0 504 0.01% Tom Anderson (write-in) American Party 0 387 0.01% Rufus Shackelford (write-in) 0 67 0.00% Other write-ins 0 1,481 0.03% Total 26 4,719,304 100%

Results by county