1948 Illinois gubernatorial election

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The 1948 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1948. Incumbent Republican Dwight H. Green ran for a third term but was defeated by Democrat Adlai Stevenson II. Stevenson won 2,250,074 votes (57.11%) to Green’s 1,678,007 votes (42.59%), a margin of 572,067—at the time, the largest ever for an Illinois governor’s race.

Illinois was largely Republican at the time, so Stevenson's upset win was surprising and helped boost the Democratic ticket in other races, including the presidential election where Truman carried Illinois.

Stevenson had been drafted by Cook County party leader Jacob Arvey to run, based on his public service and private life record. He faced no opponents in the Democratic primary, and Green faced no opposition in the Republican primary. Stevenson campaigned on cleaning up Illinois politics after corruption scandals. Green tried to tie Stevenson to the national Democratic Party and to communism, while painting Stevenson as weak on crime.

Stevenson used his oratory to attack Green, while Green highlighted national issues and accused Stevenson of being too closely tied to the national party. Green’s administration faced allegations of corruption, including connections to the Shelton Brothers gang and the 1947 Centralia mine disaster, where inspectors were accused of taking payoffs.

Stevenson’s victory is remembered as a historic margin and part of a broader Democratic wave in the 1948 elections.