1883 Chicago mayoral election

The Chicago mayoral election of 1883 was held on Tuesday April 3, saw incumbent Carter Harrison Sr. defeat Republican Eugene Cary by a double-digit margin.[1][2]

1883 Chicago mayoral election
← 1881 April 3, 1883 1885 →
 
Nominee Carter Harrison Sr. Eugene Cary
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 41,226 30,963
Percentage 57.11% 42.89%

Mayor before election

Carter Harrison Sr.
Democratic

Elected mayor

Carter Harrison Sr.
Democratic

By winning the 1883 election, Harrison became the second mayor in Chicago history to be elected to a third term (after only Francis Cornwall Sherman), and the first to be elected to a third consecutive term.

By the day of the election, Harrison was already the second-longest serving mayor in the city's history, and was only roughly a month shy of surpassing Monroe Heath as the longest serving mayor.

Harrison's 15% margin of victory was the greatest in all of his campaigns for mayor.[3]

Harrison's opponent, Eugene Cary, was a member of the Chicago Common Council that had previously been county judge and city attorney in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and had also served as a member of the Tennessee Senate.[4]

Campaign

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A key issue of the election was the "high licenses" for liquor sales in the city.[5] Cary favored the high license.[6]

During the campaign, many reformers, newspapers, and business interests coalesced their support behind a Citizen's Ticket that supported Republican nominee Eugene Cary for mayor.[7]

Results

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1883 Chicago mayoral election[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Carter H. Harrison, Sr. (incumbent) 41,226 57.11
Republican Eugene Cary 30,963 42.89
Turnout 72,189

64% of the city's German population voted for Harrison.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Mayor Carter Henry Harrison III Biography".
  2. ^ Currey, Josiah Seymour (1912). Chicago: Its History and Its Builders, a Century of Marvelous Growth. S. J. Clarke publishing Company. p. 335.
  3. ^ Carter Harrison I: Policial Leader (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1928) pg. 288
  4. ^ "A brief sketch of the nominee for mayor". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. March 25, 1883. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Labor and Urban Politics: Class Conflict and the Origins of Modern Liberalism in Chicago, 1864-97 Front Cover Richard Schneirov University of Illinois Press, 1998 (page 166-67)
  6. ^ "Mr. Cary Reluctant - He favors High License". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. March 24, 1883. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  7. ^ Grafters and Goo Goos: Corruption and Reform in Chicago by James L. Merriner
  8. ^ The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1912. Chicago Daily News, Incorporated. 1911. p. 464. Retrieved May 12, 2020.