1938 Illinois elections

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

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

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

United States House

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

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

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]^[3]
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Walter T. Gunn	80,592	54.78
	Democratic	Joseph L. McLaughlin	66,525	45.22
	write-in	scattering	1	0.00
Total votes	147,118	100

Ballot measure

One ballot measure was put before voters in 1938, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment^[1]^[4]

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]^[5] In order to be approved, legislatively referred constitutional amendments required approval equal to a majority of voters voting in the entire general election.^[5]^[6]

If approved, this amendment would have made modifications to state banking rules that would have reduced the liability of bank stockholders.^[5]

Illinois Banking Amendment^[1]^[5]
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]^[4]

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.^[7]

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

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z "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]}
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
^ "Illinois Blue Book, 1937-1938". State of Illinois. p. 803. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "Illinois 1938 ballot measures". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Illinois Banking Amendment (1938)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
^ Illinois Constitution of 1870 ARTICLE XIV Section 2
^ "Illinois National Draft for War on Foreign Soil Question (1938)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 15, 2020.

[results-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z "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]}

[ui1-2] "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.

[3] "Illinois Blue Book, 1937-1938". State of Illinois. p. 803. Retrieved February 14, 2025.

[BM1-4] "Illinois 1938 ballot measures". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 15, 2020.

[IBA-5] "Illinois Banking Amendment (1938)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 15, 2020.

[6] Illinois Constitution of 1870 ARTICLE XIV Section 2

[draftq-7] "Illinois National Draft for War on Foreign Soil Question (1938)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 15, 2020.

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v t e Elections in Illinois
By year	1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1969 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1998 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Presidential	1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 (Dem primary, Rep primary) 2012 2016 (Dem primary) 2020 (Dem primary) 2024 (Dem primary, Rep primary)
U.S. Senate	1885 1891 1913 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026
U.S. House	2000 (1st) 2006 2008 2010 (17th) 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
Special	2nd congressional, 1995 14th congressional, 2008 5th congressional, 2009 2nd congressional, 2013 18th congressional, 2015 Comptroller, 2016
Gubernatorial	1818 1822 1826 1830 1834 1838 1842 1846 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
Lieutenant gubernatorial	1818 1822 1826 1830 1834 1838 1842 1846 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968
Other state executive offices	Attorney General 2018 2022 Secretary of State 2018 2022 Comptroller 2016 2026
State Senate	2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
State House	1964 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
State judicial	1936 1938 1940 1942 1948 1960 1962 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Ballot measures and referendums	State capitol referendum (1834) Cutback Amendment (1980) Crime Victim Rights Amendment (1992) Governor Recall Amendment (2010) Public Pension Amendment (2012) Marsy's Law (2014) Right to Vote Amendment (2014) Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment (2016) Fair Tax (2020) Right to Collective Bargaining Amendment (2022)
Chicago mayoral	1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 (Mar) 1844 (Apr) 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1876 (Apr) 1876 (Jul) 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 (Apr) 1893 (Dec) 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1911 1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1977 1979 1983 1987 1989 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027
Chicago City Council	1923 1925 1927 1929 1931 1933 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Other municipal	1924 Cicero Bring Chicago Home (2024)
Cook County	1946 1980 (State's Attorney) 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 (State's Attorney) 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 (State's Attorney) 2022