 Adlai Stevenson III, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, formed the Solidarity Party as he did not want to run alongside anybody associated with LaRouche's organization.Subsequently, Demuzio and the party had to create a campaign to get Democratic voters to split their tickets.Though Stevenson lost to James R. Thompson, the Democrats kept majorities in the Illinois General Assembly and gained two seats on the then-elected University of Illinois Board of Trustees.