1928 United States Senate special election in Illinois

The 1928 United States Senate special election in Illinois took place on November 6, 1928.^[1] The election was held due to the U.S. Senate's refusal to seat 1926 election winner, Republican Frank L. Smith, due to allegations of election fraud.^[2][3][4] The election saw the election of Republican Otis F. Glenn.

1928 United States Senate special election in Illinois

← 1926 November 6, 1928 1932 →

Nominee Otis F. Glenn Anton Cermak Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,594,031 1,315,338 Percentage 54.46% 44.94%

Results by county Glenn:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Cermak:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Vacant Elected U.S. senator Otis F. Glenn Republican

The primaries and general election coincided with those for federal elections (president and House) and those for state elections.^[1] Primaries were held April 10, 1928.^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Anton Cermak, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners
• James O. Monroe, attorney and perennial candidate^[5]

Results

Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	A. J. Cermak	176,750	71.32
	Democratic	James O. Monroe	71,068	28.68
	Write-in	Others	3	0.00
Total votes			247,821	100

Republican primary

Candidates

• Otis F. Glenn, former Illinois state senator
• Frank L. Smith, unseated winner of 1926 U.S. Senate election

Campaign

The Illinois Republican primaries of 1928 were plagued with electoral violence, and were dubbed the "Pineapple Primary".

Chicago mayor William Hale Thompson backed Smith for Senate, while Charles S. Deneen, who held Illinois' other U.S. Senate seat, backed Glenn. Thompson and Deneen controlled rival factions of the state's Republican Party.^[6][7] Thompson's faction was vastly dominant at the time.^[8]

Results

Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Otis F. Glenn	611,897	63.26
	Republican	Frank L. Smith	355,356	36.74
	Write-in	Others	3	0.00
Total votes			967,256	100

General election

1928 United States Senate special election in Illinois^[1][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Otis F. Glenn	1,594,031	54.46
	Democratic	A. J. Cermak	1,315,338	44.94
	Socialist	George Ross Kirkpatrick	13,002	0.44
	Workers	Max Bedacht	3,177	0.11
	Socialist Labor	G. A. Jenning	1,463	0.05
Majority			278,693	9.52
Turnout			2,927,011

See also

• 1928 United States Senate elections

References

1. "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION, November 6, 1928 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1927-1928 PRIMARY ELECTIONS GENERAL PRIMARY, April 10, 1928 PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE, APRIL 10, 1928" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 1, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
2. Frank Lloyd Wright Library Archived September 17, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, Frank L. Smith photographs, US Senate campaign brochure, accessed September 16, 2017
3. Senate Historical Office, United States Senate. "The Election Case of Frank L. Smith of Illinois (1928)". senate.gov.
4. "Congressional Record - Senate" (PDF). govinfo.gov. January 19, 1927. pp. 1911–1982.
5. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - James O. Monroe". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
6. "Chicago's Primary Today". Washington Post. April 10, 1928. p. 6.
7. Wendt, Lloyd; Herman Kogan (1953). Big Bill of Chicago. Indianapolis, Indiana: Bobbs-Merrill. pp. 54–65.
8. "Machine Guns and Bombs May Decide the Chicago Primary Result Tuesday". Washington Post. April 8, 1928. p. M1.
9. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1928" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 4, 2014.