1966 United States Senate election in Illinois

1966 United States Senate election in Illinois

November 8, 1966

Nominee Charles Percy Paul Douglas Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,100,449 1,678,147 Percentage 54.95% 43.90%

County Results Percy:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Douglas:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Paul Douglas Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Charles H. Percy Republican

The 1966 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 8, 1966. Incumbent Democratic United States Senator Paul Douglas, seeking a fourth term in the United States Senate, faced off against Republican Charles H. Percy, a businessman and the 1964 Republican nominee for Governor of Illinois. A competitive election ensued, featuring campaign appearances by former Vice-President Richard M. Nixon on behalf of Percy. Ultimately, Percy ended up defeating Senator Douglas by a fairly wide margin, allowing him to win what would be the first of three terms in the Senate.

General election

Candidates

• Charles H. Percy (R), businessman and nominee for Governor in 1964
• Paul Douglas (D), incumbent United States Senator
• Robert Sabonjian (I), Mayor of Waukegan

Results

United States Senate election in Illinois, 1966

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Charles H. Percy	2,100,449	54.95%	+9.75%
	Democratic	Paul H. Douglas (incumbent)	1,678,147	43.90%	-10.73%
	Independent	Robert Sabonjian	41,965	1.10%
	Write-ins		2,163	0.05%
Majority			422,302	11.05%	+1.61%
Turnout			3,822,724
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

See also

• United States Senate elections, 1966