1968 United States presidential election in Illinois

The 1968 United States presidential election in Illinois took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the overall 1968 United States presidential election. Illinois voters selected 26 electors to represent the state in the Electoral College, which would then choose the president and vice president.

Illinois had been consistently Republican during the "System of 1896," with the exception of a few areas in the southern part of the state that sympathized with the Confederacy during the American Civil War. However, starting from the New Deal era, Illinois became a crucial swing state, having voted for the winner of every presidential election since 1920.

Like other states in the Midwest, Illinois had been severely affected by racial tension during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. This situation played a role in Charles H. Percy's comfortable Senate win, as he defeated Democrat Paul Douglas. Illinois, particularly the Metro East region, was affected less by racial tension compared to states located to its east.

By the time the election campaign was in full swing at the end of the summer, Democratic nominee and incumbent Vice-President Hubert Humphrey was clearly in serious trouble, and early polling suggested he would have little chance in the state. Humphrey was further hindered by the refusal of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley Sr. to help him.

The failure of Nixon’s “50 State Strategy” in 1960 led him to focus on a few electoral-vote-rich states, of which Illinois was one of the most critical. Humphrey lost further in polling during September, and at the end of the first week of October Nixon had a substantial lead. Nevertheless, when the Vice-President campaigned alongside rival former and future Alabama Governor George Wallace, he would gain sharply so that state became extremely close at the beginning of November.