2014 Illinois gubernatorial election


The 2014 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor and [Lieutenant Governor of Illinois|lieutenant Governor of Illinois|governor of Illinois], concurrently with the [2014 United States 2014 United States Senate election in Illinois|Senate 2014 United States Senate election in Illinois|election in Illinois|election] to Illinois's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the [2014 United States 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois|House of Representatives elections|United States House of Representatives] and various state and local elections.
Before this cycle, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor were nominated separately, and the primary winners ran on the same ticket in the general election. In 2011, the law was changed to allow candidates for governor to pick their own running mates. Incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon did not run for reelection, instead running unsuccessfully for comptroller. She was replaced as Quinn's running mate by Paul Vallas, a former CEO of Chicago Public Schools. Rauner chose Wheaton City councilwoman Evelyn Sanguinetti as his running mate and Grimm chose Alex Cummings.
Incumbent Democratic governor Pat Quinn ran for re-election to a second full term in office. Quinn, then the lieutenant governor, assumed the office of governor on January 29, 2009, upon the impeachment and removal of Rod Blagojevich. He narrowly won a full term in 2010. Primary elections were held on March 18, 2014. Quinn won the Democratic primary, while the Republicans chose businessman Bruce Rauner and the Libertarians nominated political activist Chad Grimm.
Rauner defeated Quinn in the general election with 50.3% of the vote to Quinn's 46.4%, winning every county in the state except for Cook County, home to the city of Chicago and 40% of the state's residents. Quinn was the only incumbent Democratic governor to lose a general election in 2014 and remained the last one to do so until Nevada's Steve Sisolak in 2022. Rauner became the second Republican to be elected governor of Illinois while carrying all but one county, the other being Jim Edgar in 1994. This was the only time since 1998 that a Republican was elected Governor of Illinois.
As of, this alongside the concurrent comptroller election is the only time since 2010 that Republicans won a statewide election in Illinois. This is also the most recent Illinois gubernatorial election in which the winner won a majority of counties.

Background

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for federal and those for other state offices. The election was part of the 2014 Illinois elections.
For the primary election, turnout was 16.88%, with 1,267,028 votes cast. For the general election, turnout was 48.48%, with 3,627,690 votes cast.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Polling

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Pat
Quinn		Bill
Daley		Lisa
Madigan		Kwame
Raoul		OtherUndecided
We Ask AmericaAugust 6, 20131,528± ?27%23%—13%—37%
We Ask AmericaJuly 19, 20131,394± ?38%33%———29%
We Ask AmericaJune 13, 20131,322± 2.8%21%22%32%——25%
We Ask AmericaJune 13, 20131,322± 2.8%37%38%———25%
We Ask AmericaJune 13, 20131,322± 2.8%33%—44%——23%
Paul Simon InstituteJanuary 27–February 8, 2013310± 5.5%22.9%11.9%31.9%—4.8%28.4%
We Ask AmericaJanuary 30, 20131,255± 3%20%15%37%——18%
We Ask AmericaJanuary 30, 20131,255± 3%38%33%———29%
We Ask AmericaJanuary 30, 20131,255± 3%26%—51%——23%
Public Policy PollingNovember 26–28, 2012319± 5.5%34%37%———29%
Public Policy PollingNovember 26–28, 2012319± 5.5%20%—64%——17%

Republican primary

By early summer 2013, the field seeking the Republican nomination was set at four candidates. Two of them, state senators Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard, had sought the nomination in 2010, with Brady edging out Dillard by 193 votes, but ultimately losing to Pat Quinn by less than 1 percent. Dan Rutherford, who was elected state treasurer in 2010 after serving as a state representative and state senator, formally entered the race on June 2.
Rauner had announced the formation of an exploratory committee in March and made his entry into the Republican field official on June 5. Despite longstanding rumors that Rauner was committed to spending $50 million on his campaign, he denied in an interview ever specifying a dollar figure.
By the date of the primary, Rauner had broken the previous record for self-funding in an Illinois gubernatorial race by putting more than $6 million of his own money into his campaign. In total, he raised more than $14 million before the primary election.
On March 18, 2014, Rauner won the Republican primary, collecting 40% of the vote, compared to 37% for State Senator Kirk Dillard.

Candidates

Declared

Removed

Declined

Polling

Third party and Independents

Candidates

Declared

  • Chad Grimm, political activist, candidate for the State House in 2012 and candidate for the Peoria City Council in 2013
  • * Running mate: Alex Cummings

Removed from ballot

  • Mike Oberline
  • * Running mate: Don Stone
  • Scott Summers
  • * Running mate: Bob Pritchett Jr.

Declined

General election

Debates

Polling

With Quinn

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Pat
Quinn 		Bill
Brady 		Undecided
We Ask AmericaJanuary 30, 20141,354± 2.7%39%48%13%
Public Policy PollingNovember 22–25, 2013557± 4.2%41%41%18%

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Pat
Quinn 		Kirk
Dillard 		Undecided
We Ask AmericaJanuary 30, 20141,354± 2.7%37%46%17%
Public Policy PollingNovember 22–25, 2013557± 4.2%39%39%21%
Public Policy PollingNovember 26–28, 2012500± 4.4%37%44%19%

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Pat
Quinn 		Dan
Rutherford 		Undecided
We Ask AmericaJanuary 30, 20141,354± 2.7%37%46%17%
Public Policy PollingNovember 22–25, 2013557± 4.2%39%41%20%
Public Policy PollingNovember 26–28, 2012500± 4.4%39%43%18%

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Pat
Quinn 		Aaron
Schock 		Undecided
Public Policy PollingNovember 26–28, 2012500± 4.4%40%39%21%

With Daley

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Bill
Daley 		Kirk
Dillard 		Undecided
Public Policy PollingNovember 26–28, 2012500± 4.4%34%36%30%

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Bill
Daley 		Dan
Rutherford 		Undecided
Public Policy PollingNovember 26–28, 2012500± 4.4%37%38%25%

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Bill
Daley 		Aaron
Schock 		Undecided
Public Policy PollingNovember 26–28, 2012500± 4.4%40%35%25%

With Emanuel

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Rahm
Emanuel 		Dan
Rutherford 		Undecided
Public Policy PollingNovember 22–25, 2013557± 4.2%40%38%22%

With Hynes

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Daniel
Hynes 		Dan
Rutherford 		Undecided
Public Policy PollingNovember 22–25, 2013557± 4.2%34%34%32%

With Madigan

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Lisa
Madigan 		Kirk
Dillard 		Undecided
Public Policy PollingNovember 26–28, 2012500± 4.4%46%37%17%

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Lisa
Madigan 		Dan
Rutherford 		Undecided
Public Policy PollingNovember 22–25, 2013557± 4.2%45%40%15%
Public Policy PollingNovember 26–28, 2012500± 4.4%46%37%18%

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Lisa
Madigan 		Aaron
Schock 		Undecided
Public Policy PollingNovember 26–28, 2012500± 4.4%46%38%17%

  • * Internal Poll for Dick Durbin campaign
  • ^ Internal Poll for Pat Quinn campaign

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

Rauner won 12 of 18 districts, including four that elected Democrats.
DistrictQuinnRaunerRepresentative
71%27%Bobby Rush
73%25%Robin Kelly
48.7%48.8%Dan Lipinski
72%25%Luis Gutierrez
55%43%Mike Quigley
32%65%Peter Roskam
81%18%Danny K. Davis
43%54%Tammy Duckworth
54%44%Jan Schakowsky
43%55%Brad Schneider
43%55%Robert Dold
46%52%Bill Foster
38%56%William Enyart
38%56%Mike Bost
38%57%Rodney Davis
32%65%Randy Hultgren
23%71%John Shimkus
35%61%Adam Kinzinger
43%52%Cheri Bustos
28%66%Aaron Schock