Jim Thompson

Governor
Born
May 8, 1936
Died
August 14, 2020
Age at death
84
Home state
Illinois
Party
Republican
On the ballot
1976–1986
4-0
RecordWin–Loss
Total Popular Votes
Thompson8.3M
Opponents6.1M
4
Elections run

Between 1976 and 1986, Jim Thompson ran in 4 governor elections, winning all 4. Thompson's biggest single-election total was 3,000,395 votes, in the 1976 governor election in Illinois. Thompson's closest win came in the 1982 governor election in Illinois, decided by 5,074 votes.

Browse every governor election in Illinois or all 1986 governor races.

How many votes has Jim Thompson received?

Jim Thompson has received 8,332,029 popular votes across 4 U.S. elections, with a career record of 4–0.

Election history

Jim Thompson’s election history
YearOfficeResultVotesOpponent(s)
1986GovernorIllinoisWon1,655,84952.67%Adlai Stevenson III (head-to-head)
No nominee
1982GovernorIllinoisWon1,816,10149.44%Adlai Stevenson III (head-to-head)
1978GovernorIllinoisWon1,859,68459.04%Michael Bakalis
1976GovernorIllinoisWon3,000,39564.68%Michael Howlett
Identity & sources. Identity verified against Wikidata (Q735247). Election results come from official certified totals and the MIT Election Data and Science Lab; see methodology.
Cite this profile. PolitiFinder, “Jim Thompson: election history & vote totals.” https://politifinder.com/p/jim-thompson. Accessed [date].

Compiled by PolitiFinder. Election results from official certified sources and the MIT Election Lab. See Data & sources and methodology. Data last verified July 28, 2026.