THE GREAT AMERICAN POLITICAL ROADTRIP: ILLINOIS AND INDIANA

ILLINOIS

The 2020 Presidential Election in Illinois

Politically, Illinois has two worlds: Chicago, and everything else. America’s third-largest city sits in the state’s northeast corner on the shore of Lake Michigan and is home to about a quarter of the state’s population. Chicagoland, the name given to the metropolitan area surrounding the city, is home to almost a third. In many states anchored by major cities, the parts of the state outside that metropolis are an afterthought. Illinois might be the most notable example of this.

Despite being the proud home state of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, Illinois is today a Democratic stronghold. That’s because Chicago is a longtime Democratic bastion, which has ensured Illinois’ status as the bluest state in the Midwest. It has not been competitive in presidential elections since the 1980s, but before that, it was the Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio of its day. Decisive in the presidential elections of 1960 and 1968, Illinois was also home to some prominent national figures from both parties; Gov. Adlai Stevenson, the 1952 and 1956 Democratic nominee for president, Republican Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, prominent House Republicans like Phil Crane, Henry Hyde, and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. 

For decades, the political dynamic in Illinois that made it competitive was this: