PolitiFinder

1982 Illinois Gubernatorial Election

Illinois · 2 candidates · See every 1982 Governor race

Who won the 1982 Illinois Gubernatorial Election?

Jim Thompson won the 1982 Illinois Gubernatorial Election. Jim Thompson received 1,816,101 popular votes (49.44%). The main challenger was Adlai Stevenson III (49.3%).

See the full head-to-head between Thompson and III

Thompson +0.1 pts · won by 5,074 votes
Jim ThompsonRepublicanWINNER49.44%
1,816,101 votes
Adlai Stevenson IIIDemocratic49.3%
1,811,027 votes
Other candidates received the remaining 1.3% of the popular vote; only the leading candidates are individually recorded for this election.
Popular-vote totals for governor elections are compiled from official state results (via Wikipedia); Louisiana shows the decisive round of its jungle primary.

Data last verified July 28, 2026.