1903 Chicago mayoral election
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Illinois |
|---|
 |
 Federal government |
 State government |
 Ballot measures and referendums |
 Chicago |
In the Chicago mayoral election of 1903, Democrat Carter Harrison Jr. was reelected to a fourth term, defeating Republican candidate Graeme Stewart.
The election took place on April 7.[1][2][3]
Background[]
1903 was shaping up to be a challenging reelection for incumbent Democrat Carter Harrison Jr.[4]
By 1903, the municipal reform movement in Chicago, which had been on the rise since the 1890s, had become a strong force in Chicago politics.[4]
By 1903, an anti-Harrison coalition had begun to arise in Chicago, consisting of members of union ( including in the Chicago Federation of Labor), former Harrison ally Robert "Bobby" Burke's followers, and remnants of what had been the once-strong Altgeld wing of the Democratic party.[4]
In 1903, the traction issue was a popular concern, particularly the issue of municipal ownership of streetcars.[4]
Nominations[]
Democratic[]
Incumbent mayor Carter Harrison Jr. was renominated by the Democratic Party.[4] Few others seemed interested in seeking the nomination.[4]
While there had been factional disputes within the party, most of the Democratic Party united behind Harrison as a nominee. A key exception to this was Harrison's once-ally Robert "Bobby" Burke, who remained opposed to Harrison.[4]
Harrison easily won the primaries to select delegates for the city's nominating convention, with his supporters being heavily selected as delegates.[4] A pro-Harrison delegate nominee even beat former Cook County Democratic Party Chairman Thomas Gahan, who had been seeking to run as a delegate aligned with then-Harrison rival Robert "Bobby" Burke.[4]
Without an opponent, Harrison was renominated at the convention by acclamation.[4] The convention, however, was noted as having been a rather unenthusiastic affair, appearing to signal more tepid or reluctant support of Harrison by his party.[4]
Republican[]
Businessman Greame Stewart won the Republican nomination.[5] He had previously served as a member of the Executive Committee of the 1900 Republican National Convention.[6] From 1882 through 1890 he was a member of the Chicago Board of Education, serving as the board's president from 1889 through 1890.[7]
With an exceptional reputation for honesty and public service, Stewart had long been considered a potential candidate for mayor of Chicago.[4]
In February, Stewart won the a 2-1 margin of victory in the Republican primaries over his most significant opponent, John Maynard Harlan.[4]
At the Republican convention, Stewart was nominated by acclamation.[4]
United Labor[]
The United Labor Party first nominated Clarence Darrow, who declined. The party subsequently nominated Daniel L. Cruise.[8]
Beginning at the start of 1903, there was a strong push among members of the Chicago Federation of Labor and others to draft Darrow as an independent candidate for mayor.[4] After an active and organized effort to draft him, which even included a nominating convention-style pro-Darrow mass meeting held at the Auditorium Theatre on February 16, and active consideration of a prospective run on his part, it appeared in late February that Darrow might be preparing to enter the race.[4] However, on February 24, he made the surprise announcement that he would not be running.[4]
The United Labor Party, which had been formed in hopes of nominating Darrow, and had offered him their nomination, moved on after Darrow declined and nominated Daniel L. Cruise.[4][8]
Prohibition[]
The Prohibition Party nominated Thomas L. Haines.
Socialist[]
The Socialist Party nominated Charles L. Breckon.
Socialist Labor[]
The Socialist Labor Party nominated Henry Sale.
General election[]
Both major parties were unified behind their candidates.[4]
The major party candidates not both only resided in the city's twenty-first ward, but each also resided in the exact same voting precinct.[9]
The traction issue became the primary issue of the election.[9] Both candidates supported ultimately supported ultimately having municipal ownership for the streetcar services.[9] Stewart advocated making immediate improvements to its conditions by accepting the best terms the streetcar companies were willing to offer.[9] Harrison advocated holding off on an agreement until the city received the terms it desired.[9]
Harrison worked to paint Stewart as a puppet of corporations and special interests, particularly the streetcar companies.[4]
Republicans worked to paint Harrison as an enabler of corruption.[4] They also worked to paint him as having made few substantive accomplishments in his tenure as mayor, and utilized the slogan "six years, nothing doing" against Harrison.[4]
Stewart's own platform promised reform.[7] In an attempt to make it appear that he was not a product of the political machine, Stewart attempted to convince the electorate that businessmen and not politicians had been the one's who had urged him to run.[7]
Late into the race, Clarence Darrow came forward as a campaign surrogate in support of Harrison, swaying a lot of labor voters in Harrison's favor.[4]
Results[]
The result was considered to be a close one.[4][8]
While they lost the mayoralty, in the coinciding elections, Republicans were able to win the races for City Attorney and City Clerk (having won the latter race by a mere several hundred vote margin).[4]
In the coinciding Chicago City Council election, Republicans won a weakened majority. The City Council went from having 39 Republicans, 30 Democrats, and one independent before the 1903 election, to having 35 Republicans, 33 Democrats, and one independent afterwards.[9]
Democrat Ernest Hummel also won the coinciding election for City Treasurer.[9]
Stewart had overwhelmingly won the vote in first precinct of the twenty-first ward, where both he and Harrison resided.[9] Harrison had won this precinct in the previous election.[9]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Carter Harrison Jr. | 146,208 | 47.22 | |
| Republican | Graeme Stewart | 138.648 | 44.78 | |
| Socialist | Charles L. Breckon | 11,124 | 3.59 | |
| United Labor | Daniel L. Cruice | 9,947 | 3.21 | |
| Prohibition | Thomas L. Haines | 2,674 | 0.86 | |
| Socialist Labor | Henry Sale | 1,014 | 0.33 | |
| Turnout | 309,615 | |||
Harrison received 64.38% of the Polish-American vote, while Stewart received 31.51%.[10]
References[]
- ^ a b The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1912. Chicago Daily News, Incorporated. 1911. p. 465. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ Mayor Carter Henry Harrison IV Biography
- ^ Currey, Josiah Seymour (1912). Chicago: Its History and Its Builders, a Century of Marvelous Growth. S. J. Clarke publishing Company. p. 335.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Morton, Richard Allen (29 June 2016). Roger C. Sullivan and the Making of the Chicago Democratic Machine, 1881-1908. McFarland. pp. 140–142. ISBN 9781476623788. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Chicago Eagle Newspaper Archives, Apr 4, 1903".
- ^ "Herald Democrat June 28, 1905 — Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection".
- ^ a b c "Graeme Stewart Public School Building 4524 North Kenmore Avenue Final Landmark Recommendation adopted by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, September 1, 2016" (PDF). City of Chicago. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ^ a b c Post, Louis Freeland; Post, Alice Thatcher (1903). "The Public".
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "CHICAGO RE-ELECTS HARRISON ITS MAYOR; His Plurality Over Graeme Stewart, Republican, 6,948. Republicans Get Some City Offices -- Victory for Municipal Ownership, Says Mr. Harrison". The New York Times. 8 April 1903. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ^ Kantowicz, Edward. “The Emergence of the Polish-Democratic Vote in Chicago.” Polish American Studies, vol. 29, no. 1/2, 1972, pp. 67–80. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20147849.
 Elections in Illinois | |
|---|---|
| By year | |
| Presidential |
|
| U.S. Senate | |
| U.S. House |
|
| Special | |
| Gubernatorial | |
| Lieutenant Gubernatorial | |
| Other state executive offices | |
| State Senate | |
| State House | |
| State judicial |
|
| Ballot measures and referendums | |
| Chicago mayoral |
|
| Chicago City Council |
|
| Other municipal |
|
| Cook County |
|
- Mayoral elections in Chicago
- 1903 United States mayoral elections
- 1903 Illinois elections
- 1900s in Chicago