1994 Illinois gubernatorial election

1994 Illinois gubernatorial election

November 8, 1994
Turnout50.77% 3.23 pp
 
Nominee Jim Edgar Dawn Clark Netsch
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Bob Kustra Penny Severns
Popular vote 1,984,318 1,069,850
Percentage 63.87% 34.44%

County results
Edgar:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Netsch:      40–50%

Governor before election

Jim Edgar
Republican

Elected Governor

Jim Edgar
Republican

The 1994 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Republican Governor Jim Edgar won reelection in a landslide. Edgar carried 101 of the state's 102 counties over the Democratic nominee, State Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch, with Netsch only winning Gallatin County by a narrow margin. This was the first time in Illinois that a woman was a major party's nominee for governor, with 2006 being the only other time.

To date, this is the most recent statewide election in which Cook County voted for a Republican candidate, a Republican governor won a second term in Illinois, and the last time any gubernatorial candidate received over 60% of the vote. Clark Netsch's 34% of the vote was the worst performance for a Democratic gubernatorial nominee in almost a century.

Additionally, this is to date the closest a gubernatorial candidate has ever come to winning every single county in the state; Edgar lost Gallatin County by a mere 3 votes, less than 0.10%.

Edgar won 70% of whites and 20% of African Americans.