 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 68.9% [1]  4.1 pp | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Illinois |
|---|
 |
The Chicago mayoral election of 1971, held on April 6, 1971, was a contest between incumbent Democrat Richard J. Daley and Republican Richard E. Friedman. [2] Daley won by a landslide 40% margin, and it was his fifth consecutive mayoral win, the longest serving mayor of Chicago until that time.
This was the final Chicago mayoral election held before the ratification of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
Daley was "lavishly endorsed" by many of the city's businessmen and civic leaders, including many who usually contribute to and vote for Republicans. The Republican Party had hoped that Friedman who be a reformist able to build a coalition of Republicans and independents to mount a strong challenge to Daley, but he was the "decided underdog". Chicago has not elected a Republican as mayor since William Hale Thompson won in 1927, before his Republican challenger, Friedman, was born. [3]
In the days ahead of voting on April 6, The New York Times described Chicago's public health facilities as "among the worst in the nation", with the infant mortality rate among the highest. [4] In a sign of accelerating "white flight" to the suburbs, the city's white population had decreased by up to 50,000 each year prior. [3] Daley's critics pointed to low-income housing policies that confined Black Chicagoans in two underserved, poor areas, and Friedman focused his campaign attack on Daley's low-income housing policy. [3] One in eight city residents was on welfare at the time. [4] But, as The New York Times noted, "unless a voter is black, poor, rebellious, or involved in some contretemps with a Democratic precinct leader, his dissatisfaction with Mr. Daley is likely to be minute."
On their party's primary ballots on February 23, 1971, both candidates ran unopposed. [5] 45.72% of registered voters participated in the city's municipal primary elections. [6]
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2020) |
In December 1970, Daley, then 68 years old, announced he would seek a fifth term after much speculation by the public. [7] In a press conference announcing his reelection campaign, Daley remarked: "This election won't be won by speeches. It will have to be won by hard, hard work." [4] He won the Democratic primary on February 23, 1971, with about 375,000 votes, his lowest tally since 1959, but a figure nine times that of Friedman's primary tally. [5]
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2019) |
Richard Friedman, a 41-year-old independent Democrat running as a Republican, was an attorney and former executive director of the watchdog organization Better Government Association. [8] [7] [9] Friedman was endorsed by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. [8]
Daley's 740,137 votes more than doubled his opponent's 318,059, and Daley won in all but two of the city's 50 wards. [8] Friedman carried the wards of Hyde Park and Armitage Street. The total votes were some 11,000 fewer than the previous mayoral race.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Richard J. Daley (incumbent) | 740,137 | 70.08 | |
| Republican | Richard E. Friedman | 315,969 | 29.92 | |
| Turnout | 1,056,106 | |||
James Robert Thompson Jr. was an American politician, lobbyist, and federal prosecutor who served as the 37th governor of Illinois from 1977 to 1991. He was Illinois's longest-serving governor, having been elected to four consecutive terms and holding the office for 14 years, and is also the only governor to have served more than two terms.
The New York City mayoral election of 1997 occurred on Tuesday November 4, 1997, with incumbent Republican mayor Rudy Giuliani soundly defeating Democratic Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger and several third-party candidates. This was the first time Brooklyn voted for a Republican since 1941.
The 1996 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Paul Simon chose to retire rather than seek a third term in office. In the Democratic primary, U.S. Representative Dick Durbin emerged victorious, while state representative Al Salvi won the Republican primary. Though the election was initially anticipated to be close, Durbin ended up defeating Salvi by a comfortable double-digit margin of victory, allowing him to win what would be the first of several terms in the Senate.
The Chicago mayoral election of 1995 resulted in the re-election of Democratic Party nominee incumbent Richard M. Daley over independent candidate Roland Burris, with 359,466 votes to Burris's 217,024. Daley won 60.1% of the total vote, winning by a landslide 24-point margin. The Republican candidate, Raymond Wardingley, fared poorly with only 2.8% of the vote. A fourth-place candidate, Harold Washington Party nominee Lawrence Redmond, won 0.9% of the votes.
The Chicago mayoral election of 1991 resulted in the re-election of incumbent Democrat Richard M. Daley to his first full four-year term. Daley had previously been elected to serve the remainder of Harold Washington's unexpired term in a special election held following Washington's death in office.
The Chicago mayoral election of 1989 saw Democratic nominee Richard M. Daley win election to the remainder of an unexpired mayoral term with a 14% margin of victory. This marked a return for the Daley family to the office of mayor. Daley was elected over Alderman Timothy Evans, the nominee of the newly formed Harold Washington Party, and the Republican nominee Ed Vrdolyak.
The Chicago mayoral election of 1987 saw the re-election of incumbrnt Democrat Harold Washington. Partisan primaries were held on February 24, followed by the general election on April 7, 1987. Washington defeated Ed Vrdolyak, the leader of the Vrdolyak 29, who ran on the Illinois Solidarity Party ticket. Former mayor Jane Byrne unsuccessfully challenged Washington in the Democratic primary.
The Chicago mayoral election of 1983 began with the primary on February 22, 1983, which was followed by the general on April 12, 1983. The election saw the election of Chicago's first African-American mayor, Harold Washington.
The 1979 Chicago mayoral election was first the primary on February 27, 1979, which was followed by the general on April 3, 1979. The election saw the election of Chicago, Illinois' first female mayor, and the first female mayor of any major American city, Jane M. Byrne. Byrne defeated Republican Wallace Johnson by a landslide 66 percent margin of victory, winning more than 82 percent of the vote. Byrne's 82% of the vote is the most any candidate has received in a Chicago mayoral election.
The 2020 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party's nominee, former vice president Joe Biden, defeated incumbent Republican president Donald Trump in the presidential election. Despite losing seats in the House of Representatives, Democrats retained control of the House and very narrowly gained control of the Senate. As a result, the Democrats obtained a government trifecta, the first time since the elections in 2008 that the party gained unified control of Congress and the presidency. With Trump losing his bid for re-election, he became the first president to have seen his party lose the presidency and control of both the House and the Senate since Herbert Hoover in 1932. This was the first time since 1980 that either chamber of Congress flipped partisan control in a presidential year, and the first time Democrats did so since 1948.
The Chicago mayoral election of 1977 was a special election held on June 7, 1977, to complete the remainder of the unexpired mayoral term of Richard J. Daley who died of a heart attack in December 1976. The election saw Interim Mayor Michael A. Bilandic win the election. Bliandic defeated Republican city council member Dennis H. Block by a landslide 56% margin.
The 1968 United States presidential election in Illinois took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the overall 1968 United States presidential election. Illinois voters selected 26 electors to represent the state in the Electoral College, which would then choose the president and vice president.
The 1960 United States presidential election in Illinois took place on November 8, 1960, as part of the 1960 United States presidential election. State voters chose 27 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The Chicago mayoral election of 1975 was held on April 1, 1975. Democratic Party incumbent Richard J. Daley was elected to a record sixth term as mayor by a landslide 59% margin over Republican nominee John J. Hoellen Jr. Only one other individual has since matched Daley's feat of winning six Chicago mayoral elections. This was the first Chicago mayoral election since the ratification of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
The Chicago mayoral election of 1967 was held on April 4, 1967. The election saw Richard J. Daley being elected to a fourth term as mayor. Daley's main opponent was Republican nominee John L. Waner, who he defeated by a landslide 48% margin.
The Chicago mayoral election of 1963 was held on April 2, 1963. The election saw Richard J. Daley elected to a third term as mayor, defeating Republican Ben Adamowski by a double-digit margin.
The Chicago mayoral election of 1959 was held on April 7, 1959. The election saw Richard J. Daley being elected to a second term as mayor by a landslide margin of more-than 40%.
The 1955 Chicago mayoral election saw Democrat Richard J. Daley win election to his first term as mayor by a ten-point margin over Republican Robert E. Merriam. This was the narrowest margin of victory of any of Daley's mayoral races.
In the Chicago mayoral election of 1935, incumbent Interim Mayor Edward J. Kelly defeated Republican Emil C. Wetten and independent candidate Newton Jenkins by a landslide 60% margin of victory.
The 1960 Illinois gubernatorial election was held in Illinois on November 8, 1960.
