1978 Illinois State Comptroller election

1978 Illinois State Comptroller election
Turnout	51.40%
	County results; Burris: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% ; Castle: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
State Comptroller before election; Michael Bakalis; Democratic	Elected State Comptroller ; Roland Burris; Democratic

Incumbent Comptroller Michael Bakalis, a Democrat, did not seek a second term, instead opting to run for governor. Democrat Roland Burris was elected to succeed him. In winning the election, Burris became the first American American to be elected to statewide office in Illinois.^[1]

Democratic primary

With more than 64% of the vote, Roland Burris defeated State Representative Richard Luft in the Democratic primary.^[2]

Burris was a Chicago attorney that had formerly served as director of the Department of General Services under Governor Dan Walker. Luft had been the early favorite for the party to slate, but at the last minute was beaten out by Burris when the party finally slated candidates. It was reported that black Chicago Democrats had pressured the party to slate a black candidate for statewide office.

During the campaign, Burris and Luft argued over Burris' record as director of the Department of General Services.

Comptroller Democratic primary^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Roland W. Burris	418,735	64.03
	Democratic	Richard N. Luft	235,192	35.97
Total votes			653,927	100

Republican primary

With more than 52% of the vote, John W. Castle, director of the Department of Local Government Affairs, defeated W. Robert Blair, former Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, in the Republican primary.^[2] Governor James R. Thompson, who had convinced Castle to abandon his declared plans to run for treasurer and instead run for comptroller, publicly endorsed Castle. Blair criticized Castle for this endorsement, alleging that he would not be able to operate the comptroller's office independently of the governor, while Castle denied that his decisions would be influenced by his political ties to Thompson.

Comptroller Republican primary^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John W. Castle	238,086	52.02
	Republican	W. Robert Blair	219,570	47.98
	Write-in	Others	2	0.00
Total votes			457,656	100

General election

Comptroller election^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Roland W. Burris	1,542,983	51.67
	Republican	John W. Castle	1,389,049	46.52
	Libertarian	Mark B. Wallace	21,645	0.72
	Socialist Workers	John Eriksen	17,116	0.57
	U.S. Labor	Carol Leebove	15,181	0.51
	Write-in	Others	14	0.00
Total votes			2,985,988	100

References

^ Kimmel, Leigh (14 March 2019). "Roland Burris: The First African-American National Bank Examiner". www.occ.treas.gov. Office of the Comptroller of Currency. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Our Campaigns - IL Comptroller Race - Nov 07, 1978". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 29 April 2025.

[1] Kimmel, Leigh (14 March 2019). "Roland Burris: The First African-American National Bank Examiner". www.occ.treas.gov. Office of the Comptroller of Currency. Retrieved 27 March 2020.

[results-2] "Our Campaigns - IL Comptroller Race - Nov 07, 1978". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 29 April 2025.

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