Tom Railsback

U.S. Representative
Born
January 22, 1932
Died
January 20, 2020
Age at death
87
Home state
Illinois
Party
Republican
On the ballot
1966–1980
7-0
RecordWin–Loss
Total Popular Votes
Railsback734,096
Opponents337,676
7
Elections run

Between 1966 and 1980, Tom Railsback ran in 7 U.S. House elections, winning all 7. Railsback's biggest single-election total was 142,616 votes, in the 1980 U.S. House election in Illinois's District 19. Railsback's closest win came in the 1966 U.S. House election in Illinois's District 19, decided by 6,845 votes.

Browse every U.S. House race in Illinois's District 19 or all 1980 U.S. House races.

How many votes has Tom Railsback received?

Tom Railsback has received 734,096 popular votes across 7 U.S. elections, with a career record of 7–0.

Election history

Tom Railsback’s election history
YearOfficeResultVotesOpponent(s)
1980U.S. HouseIllinoisWon142,61673.37%Thomas J. Hand
1978U.S. HouseIllinoisWon89,77099.98%
1976U.S. HouseIllinoisWon132,57168.5%John Craver
1974U.S. HouseIllinoisWon84,04965.29%Jim Gende
1970U.S. HouseIllinoisWon92,24768.16%James H Shaw
1968U.S. HouseIllinoisWon114,94863.48%Craig Lovitt
1966U.S. HouseIllinoisWon77,89552.3%Gale Schisler
Identity & sources. Identity verified against the Congressional Bioguide (R000012) and Wikidata (Q7817321). Election results come from official certified totals and the MIT Election Data and Science Lab; see methodology.
Cite this profile. PolitiFinder, “Tom Railsback: election history & vote totals.” https://politifinder.com/p/tom-railsback. 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.