1885 Chicago mayoral election

none January 2025 September 2023 1885 Chicago mayoral election presidential no 1883 1887 April 7, 1885 Carter Harrison, Sr. - Brady-Handy (3x4a).jpg Carter Harrison III Democratic Party (United States) 43,352 50.09% Sketch of Judge Sidney Smith (Cook County, Illinois), circa 1885 (3x4).jpg Sidney Smith Republican Party (United States) 42,977 49.66% Mayor Carter Harrison III Democratic Party (United States) Carter Harrison III Democratic Party (United States) The Chicago mayoral election of 1885 saw Democratic incumbent Carter Harrison III win an unprecedented fourth term, receiving a majority of voter and narrowly defeating Republican Sidney Smithby a less than half-percent margin of victory. The election was held on April 7.https://www.chipublib.org/mayor-carter-henry-harrison-iii-biography/ Mayor Carter Henry Harrison III Biographyhttps://archive.org/details/chicagohistory03curr 335 Chicago: Its History and Its Builders, a Century of Marvelous Growth S. J. Clarke publishing Company Currey Josiah Seymour 1912 Campaign Democratic Mayor Harrison was challenged by Republican challenger, Sidney Smith, a judge of the Superior Court of Cook County.Chicago Frei Presse subscription Judge Sidney Smith Why the Germans Would Support Him as a Candidate for Mayor https://www.newspapers.com/image/349818242 Newspapers.com Chicago Tribune 15 March 2023 en 22 Feb 1885 Before being nominated at the city's Republican convention, Smith had declared that he would not actively seek to run and would only run if nominated by the Republican Party's convention.Judge Smith Declines https://www.newspapers.com/image/349754301 subscription Newspapers.com Chicago Tribune 15 March 2023 en March 10, 1885 Other speculated potential Republican nominees had been former alderman James A. Kirk and Colonel George R. Davis (former congressman) . However, in the week ahead of the Republican city nominating convention, Kirk announced that he would not run and rumors emerged that Davis would also not be interested in running. This made Smith become the likely consensus nominee.Local Politics https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-local-politicschicago-t/15636960 Newspapers.com subscription Chicago Tribune 25 June 2025 3 12 March 1885 Republicans exploited controversies which had tarnished the image of Harrison's administration. Unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud and patronage had been key controversies throughout his mayoralty.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 (pages 166-67) In February 1885, a month before the election, a grand jury found Michael Cassius McDonald's right-hand man Joseph Mackin and others with connections to Harrison guilty of election fraud in the 1884 elections. Despite the fact that no personal wrongdoing on Harrison's part was involved in these charges, the charges against Mackin and others compounded with the preexisting rumors relating to Harrison to foster a public sentiment that challenged Harrison's popularity. Citizens groups led by the city's elite forged a strong campaign effort against Harrison, taking advantage of the voter fraud charges against those connected to Harrison.Miller Donald L. City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America 2014 Rosetta Books 978-0-7953-3985-1 731 https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=_WlsDwAAQBAJ 23 May 2020 en Harrison lost the support of many liberal German-American voters that had previously voted for him. Results Harrison narrowly won the election. 1885 Chicago mayoral electionThe Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1912 1911 Chicago Daily News, Incorporated 464 https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=ERgfAQAAMAAJ 12 May 2020 en Democratic Party (United States) Carter Harrison III (incumbent) 43,352 50.09 Republican Party (United States) Sidney Smith 42,977 49.66 Prohibition Party William Bush 221 0.26 86,550 Less than 50% of the city's German-American population voted for Harrison. The Republican camp filed litigation in county court alleging that 360 illegal votes were cast for Harrison and 324 votes legally cast for Smith had not been counted, enough votes to sway the election.The Contest. https://www.newspapers.com/image/349279638 Newspapers.com subscription Chicago Tribune 25 March 2023 en June 25, 1885 References collapsed Category:Mayoral elections in Chicago Chicago Chicago Category:1880s in Chicago Category:Carter Harrison III Category:April 1885 in the United States