1972 Illinois State Comptroller election

1972 Illinois State Comptroller election

November 7, 1972
Turnout	69.74%[1]
Nominee George W. Lindberg Dean Barringer Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,217,440 2,094,798 Percentage 51.15% 48.33%
County results Lindberg:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Barringer:      50–60%      60–70%
Auditor of Public Accounts before election Michael Howlett Democratic State Comptroller George W. Lindberg Republican

Comptroller was a newly formed office, created by the 1970 Constitution of Illinois to replace the office of Auditor of Public Accounts, of which the outgoing incumbent was Democrat Michael Howlett, who instead opted to run for Secretary of State. Republican George W. Lindberg was elected the inaugural Illinois Comptroller.

Democratic primary

Dean Barringer won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.

Comptroller Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dean Barringer	913,221	71.82
	Write-in	Others	11	0.00
Total votes			913,232	100

Republican primary

George W. Lindberg won the Republican primary, running unopposed.

Comptroller Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George W. Lindberg	480,769	100
	Write-in	Others	3	0.00
Total votes			480,772	100

General election

Comptroller election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George W. Lindberg	2,217,440	51.16
	Democratic	Dean Barringer	2,094,798	48.33
	Socialist Labor	Clarys L. Essex	12,797	0.30
	Communist	Nathan Sharpe	9,325	0.22
	Write-in	Others	287	0.01
Total votes			4,334,647	100

References

1. "Our Campaigns - IL Comptroller Race - Nov 07, 1972". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 29 April 2025.