Illinois_1948_Republican_presidential_primary_vote_total

Riley Alvin Bender (July 8, 1890 – March 6, 1973) was a United States businessman and political candidate. Born in Chicago, Illinois, to Josephine and Edward Bender, he was a lifelong resident of his native city. Bender was an entrepreuer in the areas of hotel and music store management. He was also a prize fighter. He ran in the Democratic primary for the Illinois Senate (11th district) in 1938 and lost. Bender is perhaps best known for his three bids for Republican Party Presidential nomination in the elections of

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

, 1948 and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. In all three occasions he appeared only in his native

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

ballot. Although he was never a major candidate in these races, he won the 1948 Illinois primary in a landslide, with 96.90% (324,029) of votes against Douglas MacArthur (6,672 votes and 2.00%) and other well-known figures such as

Harold Stassen Harold Edward Stassen (April 13, 1907 – March 4, 2001) was an American politician who was the 25th Governor of Minnesota. He was a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1948, considered for a ti ...

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

and

Robert A. Taft Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) was an American politician, lawyer, and scion of the Republican Party's Taft family. Taft represented Ohio in the United States Senate, briefly served as Senate Majority Leade ...

, though only Bender was on the ballot as the rest were write-in votes. Bender, who had German and Irish heritage, died in Chicago's Central Hospital and was buried in Onarga Cemetery.

Electoral history

Illinois Republican presidential primary, 1944 * Douglas MacArthur – 550,354 (92.02%) * Riley A. Bender – 37,575 (6.28%) *

– 9,192 (1.54%) *

Everett Dirksen Everett McKinley Dirksen (January 4, 1896 – September 7, 1969) was an American politician. A Republican, he represented Illinois in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. As Senate Minority Leader from 1959 u ...

– 581 (0.10%) * John W. Bricker – 148 (0.03%) *

– 111 (0.02%) *

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...

– 107 (0.02%) Illinois Republican presidential primary, 1948 * Riley A. Bender – 324,029 (96.90%) * Douglas MacArthur – 6,672 (2.00%) *

– 1,572 (0.47%) *

– 953 (0.29%) *

– 705 (0.21%) This gave Riley 11.34% of all primary votes Illinois Republican presidential primary, 1952 *

– 935,867 (73.56%) *

– 155,041 (12.19%) *

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

– 147,518 (11.59%) * Riley A. Bender – 22,321 (1.75%) * Douglas MacArthur – 7,504 (0.59%) * Earl Warren – 2,841 (0.22%) * Others – 1,229 (0.10%)

External links

References

OurCampaign.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bender, Riley A. 1890 births 1973 deaths Illinois Republicans Businesspeople from Chicago Candidates in the 1944 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1948 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1952 United States presidential election 20th-century American politicians Illinois Democrats