The 1914 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 3, 1914.
Incumbent Republican senator Lawrence Yates Sherman, first elected to a partial term by the Illinois General Assembly in a special election the previous year, was reelected to a full term as U.S. senator by a popular vote.
Background The primaries and general election coincided with those for House and those for state elections. Primaries were held September 9, 1914.
The 1914 United States Senate elections were the first to be held after the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution went into effect, and this was therefore the first Illinois U.S. Senate election to be held by a popular vote.
Democratic primary Candidates Ran Barratt O'Hara, lieutenant governor of Illinois Lawrence B. Stringer, U.S. congressman Roger Charles Sullivan, Cook County Democratic Party political boss and former the clerk of the Cook County Probate Court James Traynor Harry Woods, Illinois secretary of state
Declined to run Frank D. Comerford, former Illinois state senator and candidate for lieutenant governor in 1912"Judge Comerford Dies; Heart Attack: Death Comes Unexpectedly; 49 Years Old," Chicago Tribune, Aug. 30, 1929; pp. 1, 4.
Results Sullivan won the primary.
In October, unsuccessful candidate Woods committed suicide, with his emotional despondency over his loss believed to be the motivating factor.
Republican primary Candidates Frank Hall Childs William E. Mason, former U.S. senator Lawrence Yates Sherman, incumbent U.S. senator Myer J. Stein
Results
Progressive primary Candidates Raymond Robins, economist, writer, and chairman of the Illinois Progressive Party state committee
Results
Socialist primary Candidates Adolph Germer, trade union organizer
Results
General election Candidates John M. Frances (Socialist Labor) Adolph Germer (Socialist), trade union organizer Raymond Robins (Progressive), economist, writer, and chairman of the Illinois Progressive Party state committee Lawrence Yates Sherman (Republican), incumbent U.S. senator Roger Charles Sullivan (Democratic), Cook County Democratic Party political boss and former the clerk of the Cook County Probate Court George W. Woolsey (Prohibition Party)
Results
See also 1914 United States Senate elections
References