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

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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]

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 county judge and former city attorney.^[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, Sr. (incumbent)	41,226	57.11
	Republican	Eugene Sawyer	30,963	42.89
Turnout			72,189

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

References[]

^ "Mayor Carter Henry Harrison III Biography".
^ Currey, Josiah Seymour (1912). Chicago: Its History and Its Builders, a Century of Marvelous Growth. S. J. Clarke publishing Company. p. 335.
^ Carter Harrison I: Policial Leader (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1928) pg. 288
^ "A brief sketch of the nominee for mayor". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. March 25, 1883. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
^ ^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)
^ "Mr. Cary Reluctant - He favors High License". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. March 24, 1883. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
^ Grafters and Goo Goos: Corruption and Reform in Chicago by James L. Merriner
^ The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1912. Chicago Daily News, Incorporated. 1911. p. 464. Retrieved 12 May 2020.

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