1883 Chicago mayoral election

1883 Chicago mayoral election

←  1881 April 3, 1883 1885  →

Nominee Carter Harrison III Eugene Cary Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 41,226 30,963 Percentage 57.11% 42.89%

Mayor before election Carter Harrison III Democratic Elected mayor Carter Harrison III Democratic

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

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. He had previously been county judge and city attorney in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and had also served as a member of the Tennessee Senate. ^[4]

Campaign

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

1883 Chicago mayoral election ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carter H. Harrison III (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

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. 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.