- Lead
- 35,164
- Total
- 52,911
- vs nation
- D+67.9
Illinois 78th State House District
President margin by year
Place winner margin
President results by year
Modeled candidate-vote estimate on current district boundaries
- Lead
- 41,441
- Total
- 58,572
- vs nation
- D+66.3
- Lead
- 38,956
- Total
- 56,163
- vs nation
- D+67.3
- Lead
- 34,861
- Total
- 51,105
- vs nation
- D+64.4
- Lead
- 39,091
- Total
- 54,579
- vs nation
- D+64.4
- Lead
- 31,716
- Total
- 50,884
- vs nation
- D+64.8
- Lead
- 28,241
- Total
- 46,170
- vs nation
- D+60.6
- Lead
- 25,775
- Total
- 43,044
- vs nation
- D+51.4
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+66.5MIT Election Lab
- Population
- 108,4152024 5-year
- Population density
- 9,767 / sq mi2024 5-year · TIGER/Line
- Land area
- 11.1 sq miTIGER/Line
- Median household income
- $87,9862024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 45.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 29.7%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 16.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+71.6 in 2008MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+25.3 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- State House District 14, IL · twin score 97.6
presidential history
Party record book
Illinois 78th State House District · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
1892–2024 (partial returns from 1876) · 38 presidential cycles · 38 with a vote-share denominator · 34 with a national benchmark
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
Barack Obama2008
85.5%
46,668 votes · D+71.6 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Joe Biden, 2020 · 84.5%
Republican
Warren G. Harding1920
58.6%
9,963 votes · R+25.3 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Calvin Coolidge, 1924 · 49.1%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Joe Biden2020
49,516votes
84.5% of the vote · D+70.8 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Barack Obama, 2008 · 46,668 votes
Republican
Dwight D. Eisenhower1956
20,630votes
42.4% of the vote · D+15.1 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Richard Nixon, 1972 · 19,409 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Democratic
Kamala Harris2024
+67.9pts D vs U.S.
Place D+66.5 · U.S. R+1.5 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Hillary Clinton, 2016 · +67.3 pts
Republican
Warren G. Harding1920
−0.8pts R vs U.S.
Place R+25.3 · U.S. R+26.2 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Calvin Coolidge, 1924 · −4.7 pts
Current officeholders
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.
U.S. House
Each row is a county-allocated estimate of U.S. House votes for this district — county returns apportioned onto its boundary, not precinct-counted. “Vote lead” is the estimated local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.
| Year | Vote lead | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | D | 73.1%30,409 | 26.9%11,171 | 41,580 |
With a 2024 presidential margin of D+66.5, this Chicago-area district ranks among the most lopsided in the state, reflecting a dense urban core where competitive general elections are exceedingly rare.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 71.6 points in 2008 and a Republican high of 25.3 points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 4.3 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 66.5 points.
A population of 108,415, a 46% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $87,986 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State House District 14 and State House District 10.
The state-house districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
District research tools
Open the source-auditable district brief for electoral baseline, electorate, current-cycle coverage, geography, official dates, and methodology. Open campaign intelligence report → · Browse all comparisons →
Illinois 78th State House District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/17078/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.