1938 Illinois elections

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 8, 1938.^[1]

1938 Illinois elections

← 1936 November 8, 1938 1940 →

Primaries were held April 12, 1938.^[1]

Election information

1938 was a midterm election year in the United States.

Turnout

In the primary election 2,550,642 ballots were cast (1,744,005 Democratic and 806,637 Republican).^[1]

In the general election 3,274,814 ballots were cast.^[1]

Federal elections

United States Senate

Main article: 1938 United States Senate election in Illinois

See also: 1938 United States Senate elections

Incumbent Democrat William H. Dieterich retired. Democrat Scott W. Lucas was elected to succeed him.

United States House

Main article: 1938 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois

See also: 1938 United States House of Representatives elections

All 27 Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1938.

Republicans flipped four Democratic-held seats, making the composition of Illinois' House delegation 17 Democrats and 10 Republicans.

State elections

Treasurer

1938 Illinois State Treasurer election

← 1936 November 8, 1938 1940 →

Nominee Louie E. Lewis William R. McCauley Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,595,354 1,490,659 Percentage 51.53% 48.15%

Treasurer before election John C. Martin Democratic Elected Treasurer Louie E. Lewis Democratic

Incumbent Treasurer John C. Martin, a Democrat serving his second nonconsecutive term, did not seek reelection, instead opting to run for United States congress. Democrat Louie E. Lewis was elected to succeed him.

Democratic primary

Treasurer Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Louie E. Lewis	749,665	51.26
	Democratic	Bruce A. Campbell	625,044	42.74
	Democratic	G. N. (Pat.) Keefe	87,860	6.01
Total votes			1,462,569	100

Republican primary

Incumbent congressman William G. Stratton won the Republican nomination.

Treasurer Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William R. McCauley	360,585	55.36
	Republican	Warren Wright	290,780	44.64
Total votes			651,365	100

General election

Treasurer election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Louie E. Lewis	1,595,354	51.53
	Democratic	William R. McCauley	1,490,659	48.15
	Prohibition	Clay F. Gaumer	9,731	0.31
	Write-in	Others	4	0.00
Total votes			3,095,744	100

Superintendent of Public Instruction

1938 Illinois Superintendent of Public Instruction election

← 1934 November 8, 1938 1942 →

Nominee John A. Wieland Wiley B. Garvin Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,559,286½ 1,466,167 Percentage 51.35% 48.29%

Superintendent before election John A. Wieland Democratic Elected Superintendent John A. Wieland Democratic

Incumbent first-term Superintendent of Public Instruction John A. Wieland, a Democrat, won reelection.

Democratic primary

Superintendent of Public Instruction Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John A. Wieland (incumbent)	601,743	43.22
	Democratic	Frank A. Jensen	571,735	41.06
	Democratic	Thomas M. Enright	123,318	8.86
	Democratic	Elmer Henry Vogel	95,570	6.86
Total votes			1,392,366	100

Republican primary

Superintendent of Public Instruction Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wiley B. Garvin	586,199	100
	Write-in	Others	3	0.00
Total votes			586,202	100

General election

Superintendent of Public Instruction election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John A. Wieland (incumbent)	1,559,286½	51.35
	Republican	Wiley B. Garvin	1,466,167	48.29
	Prohibition	J. Oliver Buswell, Jr.	10,971	0.36
	Write-in	Others	28	0.00
Total votes			3,036,452	100

Clerk of the Supreme Court

1938 Illinois Clerk of the Supreme Court election

← 1932 November 8, 1938 1944 →

Nominee Adam F. Bloch George E. Lambur, Jr. Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,574,010 1,473,902 Percentage 51.47% 48.20%

Clerk before election Adam F. Bloch Democratic Elected Clerk Adam F. Bloch Democratic

Incumbent first-term Clerk of the Supreme Court, Democrat Adam F. Bloch, was reelected.

Democratic primary

Clerk of the Supreme Court Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adam F. Bloch	554,875	40.15
	Democratic	Walter J. Orlikoski	479,148	34.67
	Democratic	James E. Dolan	140,070	10.14
	Democratic	R. William Buckley	99,358	7.19
	Democratic	George Francis Keough	61,077	4.42
	Democratic	Rudolph E. Stastney	47,438	3.43
Total votes			1,381,966	100

Republican primary

Clerk of the Supreme Court Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George E. Lambur, Jr.	238,612	37.53
	Republican	Charles W. Vail	179,995	28.31
	Republican	Shelton L. Smith	136,193	21.42
	Republican	Sanford F. Giles	80,970	12.74
Total votes			635,770	100

General election

Clerk of the Supreme Court election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adam F. Bloch	1,574,010	51.47
	Republican	George E. Lambur, Jr.	1,473,902	48.20
	Prohibition	Harry D. Penwell	10,077	0.33
	Write-in	Others	3	0.00
Total votes			3,057,992	100

State Senate

Seats in the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1938. Democrats retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1938. Republicans flipped control of the chamber.

Trustees of University of Illinois

1938 Trustees of University of Illinois election

← 1936 November 8, 1938 1940 →

An election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois. All three Democratic nominees won.^[1]

Incumbent first-term Democrats Orville M. Karraker and Karl A. Meyer were reelected.^[1][2] New Democratic member Frank A. Jensen was also elected.^[1][2]

Incumbent Democrat was Nellie V. Freeman was not renominated.^[2]

Trustees of the University of Illinois election^[1][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dr. Karl A. Meyer (incumbent)	1,594,990	17.62
	Democratic	Frank A. Jensen	1,570,509½	17.35
	Democratic	O. M. Karraker	1,520,824	16.80
	Republican	Albert I. Appleton	1,453,439½	16.06
	Republican	Frank M. White	1,444,463	15.96
	Republican	Frank H. McKelvey	1,433,075½	15.83
	Prohibition	Mildred E. Young	12,492½	0.14
	Prohibition	Maude S. Stowell	11,400½	0.13
	Prohibition	Lena Duell Vincen	10,636	0.12
	Write-in	Others	10	0.00
Total votes			9,051,840½	100

Judicial elections

Supreme Court

On June 27, 1938, one district of the Supreme Court of Illinois had a special election.^[1]

3rd district special election

A special election was held for the seat of the court's 3rd district, after the death in office of Lott R. Herrick.^[1] Republican Walter T. Gunn won the election.^[1]

3rd district Supreme Court of Illinois special election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Walter T. Gunn	80,592	54.78
	Democratic	Joseph L. McLaughlin	66,525	45.22
Total votes			147,117	100

Ballot measure

One ballot measure was put before voters in 1938, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment^[1][3]

Illinois Banking Amendment

The Illinois Banking Amendment, a proposed legislatively referred constitutional amendment to Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8, of Article XI of the 1870 Illinois Constitution, failed to meet the threshold for approval.^[1][4] In order to be approved, legislatively referred constitutional amendments required approval equal to a majority of voters voting in the entire general election.^[4][5]

If approved, this amendment would have made modifications to state banking rules that would have reduced the liability of bank stockholders.^[4]

Illinois Banking Amendment[1][4]
Option	Votes	% of all ballots cast
Yes	979,892	29.92
No	352,428	10.76
Total votes	1,332,320	40.68

Advisory referendum

One advisory referendum ("question of public policy") was put before voters.^[1][3]

National Draft for War on Foreign Soil Question

An advisory question was voted on, which asked voters whether the states United States congressmen should vote against a national military draft. Those who voted overwhelmingly instructed congressmen to vote against a national military draft.^[6]

National Draft for War on Foreign Soil Question^[1]

Candidate		Votes	%
Yes		1,678,352	63.67
No		957,696	36.33
Total votes		2,636,048	100

Local elections

Local elections were held.

References

1. "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION, November 8, 1938 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1937-1938 PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, April 12, 1938" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 14, 2020.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
2. "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
3. "Illinois 1938 ballot measures". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
4. "Illinois Banking Amendment (1938)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
5. Illinois Constitution of 1870 ARTICLE XIV Section 2
6. "Illinois National Draft for War on Foreign Soil Question (1938)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 15, 2020.