1924 United States Senate election in Illinois

1924 United States Senate election in Illinois
	Results by county; Deneen: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Sprague: 50–60%
U.S. senator before election; Medill McCormick; Republican	Elected U.S. senator ; Charles S. Deneen; Republican

The 1924 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 4, 1924.^[1]

Incumbent Republican Medill McCormick was unseated in the Republican primary by Charles S. Deneen, who went on to win the general election.

The primaries and general election coincided with those for other federal elections (president and House) and those for state elections.^[1] The primaries were held April 8, 1924.^[1]

This was the first election for this U.S. Senate seat to be held after the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution granted women suffrage.

Democratic primary

Candidates

William McKinley, former speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives (not to be confused with the William B. McKinley that, at the time, occupied the other Illinois U.S. Senate seat)
Albert A. Sprague, chairman of Consolidated Grocers Corporation, and member of the John Crerar Library board^[2]

Results

Democratic primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Albert A. Sprague	169,285	62.67
	Democratic	William McKinley	100,859	37.34
	Write-in	Others	6	0.00
Total votes			270,150	100

Republican primary

Candidates

Charles S. Deneen, former governor of Illinois
Newton Jenkins, lawyer and candidate for 27th Ward Chicago alderman in 1920^[3]
Medill McCormick, incumbent U.S. senator
Adelbert McPherson
Gilbert Gile Ogden

Results

Deneen won by a mere 0.69% margin of just 5,944 votes.^[1]

Republican primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles S. Deneen	357,545	41.70
	Republican	Medill McCormick (incumbent)	351,601	41.01
	Republican	Newton Jenkins	114,239	13.32
	Republican	Gilbert Gile Ogden	18,002	2.10
	Republican	Adelbert McPherson	15,973	0.19
	Write-in	Others	1	0.00
Total votes			857,361	100

Socialist primary

Candidates

George Koop, perennial candidate^[4]

Results

Socialist primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Socialist	George Koop	946	100
Total votes			946	100

General election

Candidates

Charles S. Deneen (Republican), former governor of Illinois
J. Louis Engdahl (Workers), journalist and newspaper editor
George Koop (Socialist), perennial candidate^[4]
Parke Longworth (independent)
Lewis D. Spaulding (Commonwealth Land)
Albert A. Sprague (Democratic), chairman of Consolidated Grocers Corporation, and member of the John Crerar Library board^[2]
Albert Wirth (Socialist Labor)

Results

1924 United States Senate election in Illinois^[1]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles S. Deneen	1,449,180	63.54
	Democratic	Albert A. Sprague	806,702	35.37
	Socialist	George Koop	18,708	0.82
	Socialist Labor	Albert Wirth	2,966	0.13
	Workers	J. Louis Engdahl	2,518	0.11
	Commonwealth Land	Lewis D. Spaulding	391	0.02
	Independent	Parke Longworth	382	0.02
Majority			642,478	28.17
Turnout			2,280,847
	Republican hold

Aftermath

On February 25, 1925, as he was preparing to leave office, McCormick died in what is considered to have been a suicide (though the suicidal nature of his death was not known to the public, contemporarily). His reelection loss is believed to have contributed to his suicide.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10] McCormick's widow Ruth Hanna McCormick would go on to defeat Deneen in the 1930 Republican primary.^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION, NOV. 4, 1924 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1923-1924 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1923-1924 SPECIAL ELECTIONS, 1923-1924 PRIMARY ELECTIONS GENERAL PRIMARY, APRIL 8, 1924 PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE, APRIL 8, 1924" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 19, 2020.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ ^a ^b "Sprague, Albert A. : Photographic Archive : The University of Chicago". photoarchive.lib.uchicago.edu. University of Chicago Photographic Library.
^ "NEWTON JENKINS, 55, LAWYER AND SOLDIER; Defeated for Mayor of Chicago and United States Senator". The New York Times. October 17, 1942. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Our Campaigns - Candidate - George Koop". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1924" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
^ Rhoads, Mark (October 30, 2006). "Illinois Hall of Fame: Ruth Hanna McCormick". Illinois Review. Archived from the original on January 5, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
^ "National Affairs: Medill McCormick". Time magazine. March 9, 1925. Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
^ Hill, Ray (December 16, 2012). "The Senate's Dandy: James Hamilton Lewis of Illinois - The Knoxville Focus". The Knoxville Focus. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Miller, Kristie (1988). "Ruth Hanna McCormick and the Senatorial Election of 1930". Illinois Historical Journal. 81 (3): 191–210. ISSN 0748-8149. JSTOR 40192065.
^ United States Congress. "1924 United States Senate election in Illinois (id: M000369)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

[results-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION, NOV. 4, 1924 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1923-1924 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1923-1924 SPECIAL ELECTIONS, 1923-1924 PRIMARY ELECTIONS GENERAL PRIMARY, APRIL 8, 1924 PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE, APRIL 8, 1924" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 19, 2020.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[sprague1-2] "Sprague, Albert A. : Photographic Archive : The University of Chicago". photoarchive.lib.uchicago.edu. University of Chicago Photographic Library.

[3] "NEWTON JENKINS, 55, LAWYER AND SOLDIER; Defeated for Mayor of Chicago and United States Senator". The New York Times. October 17, 1942. Retrieved December 16, 2020.

[koop-4] "Our Campaigns - Candidate - George Koop". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 17, 2020.

[5] "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1924" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved September 1, 2019.

[6] Rhoads, Mark (October 30, 2006). "Illinois Hall of Fame: Ruth Hanna McCormick". Illinois Review. Archived from the original on January 5, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.

[7] "National Affairs: Medill McCormick". Time magazine. March 9, 1925. Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2011.

[8] Hill, Ray (December 16, 2012). "The Senate's Dandy: James Hamilton Lewis of Illinois - The Knoxville Focus". The Knoxville Focus. Retrieved December 16, 2020.

[miller1-9] Miller, Kristie (1988). "Ruth Hanna McCormick and the Senatorial Election of 1930". Illinois Historical Journal. 81 (3): 191–210. ISSN 0748-8149. JSTOR 40192065.

[10] United States Congress. "1924 United States Senate election in Illinois (id: M000369)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

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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 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
U.S. House	2000 (1st) 2006 2008 2010 (17th) 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
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
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 2022 Comptroller 2016
State Senate	2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
State House	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
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
Cook County	1946 1980 (State's Attorney) 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022

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State legislatures	Iowa Senate

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Socialist primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Results

Aftermath

See also

References