1887 Chicago mayoral election

none January 2025 September 2023 1887 Chicago mayoral election presidential no 1885 1889 April 5, 1887https://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 File:John_Roche (1).jpg John A. Roche Republican Party (United States) 51,249 68.23% Robert Nelson 1887 Chicago Socialist mayoral candidate (3x4a).jpg Robert S. Nelson United Labor B7410E 23,490 31.27% Mayor Carter Harrison III Democratic Party (United States) John A. Roche Republican Party (United States) The Chicago mayoral election of 1887 saw Republican John A. Roche win by a landslide, receiving more than a two-thirds majority of the vote, defeating United Labor Party nominee Robert S. Nelson by more than 36 points (a margin of victory which was itself greater than Nelson's vote share), in a race where the Democratic Party had failed to field a candidate. Lack of Democratic nominee Incumbent Democratic mayor Carter Harrison III had opted to retire from the mayoralty instead of seeking re-election to a fifth term.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.History of Chicago, Illinois by John Moses page 233 (293 in Google's digitalized form) He did so recognizing that he had already lost the backing of his party, and would have difficulty securing re-nomination. The loss of Democratic backing for a prospective 1887 Harrison candidacy was in reaction to an decline in overall approval towards Harrison from voters. Harrison's public favor (and his support from his party) had been significantly hurt by dissatisfaction with his handling of the Haymarket Riot.Buller The Great Demise: An Analysis of Carter Henry Harrison's Political Downfall of 1887 Western Illinois Historical Review Spring 2010 II 88114 http://www.wiu.edu/cas/history/wihr/pdfs/Buller-WIHRvol2.pdf 2153-1714Miller Donald L. City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America 2014 Rosetta Books 978-0-7953-3985-1 731–732 https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=_WlsDwAAQBAJ 23 May 2020 en Harrison's handling of the Haymarket Riot had also harmed his standing with conservative business groups. Furthermore, his decision not to seek reelection was influenced by a scandal involving criminal charges of election fraud against some of his supporters (for conduct during the previous mayoral election). Even though these charges had little to do with Harrison's own conduct, there was concern that public awareness of the scandal could provide a salient basis for Republicans to persuade voters into regarding Harrison as corrupt.Morton Richard Allen Roger C. Sullivan and the Making of the Chicago Democratic Machine, 1881-1908 https://books.google.com/books?id=xA7MDAAAQBAJ McFarland 11 May 2020 39 en 29 June 2016 9781476663777 Before Harrison decided to retire, he had unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the United Labor Party to support him for re-election and to partner with the city Democratic Party to nominate a joint-slate. Harrison proposed a fusion nomination arrangement that would have seen the parties nominate identical tickets. Harrison's failure to persuade Chicago's United Labor Party to partner with city Democrats further harmed Harrison's support within the local Democratic party.Buller The Great Demise: An Analysis of Carter Henry Harrison's Political Downfall of 1887 Western Illinois Historical Review Spring 2010 II 88114 http://www.wiu.edu/cas/history/wihr/pdfs/Buller-WIHRvol2.pdf 2153-1714Miller Donald L. City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America 2014 Rosetta Books 978-0-7953-3985-1 731–732 https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=_WlsDwAAQBAJ 23 May 2020 en The Democratic Party initially nominated DeWitt Clinton Cregier to be its nominee for mayor. However, Cregier declined the nomination, refusing to run. After this (and despite his declared intent to retire) the party voted to re-nominate Harrison. Harrison initially accepted the nomination. However, before he could begin campaigning, his wife died. Experiencing great grief over his wife's passing, he withdrew from the election.Carter Harrison https://www.newspapers.com/image/366127324 Newspapers.com subscription The Topeka Daily Press 2 5 February 2025 en November 2, 1893 The Democratic Party found itself unable to find a replacement nominee, and consequentially fielded no nominee. The election was the first of only two elections between 1879 and early 1893 in which Carter Harrison III was not a candidate (the other being the 1889 election. It was also one of only two mayoral elections in the same timespan with a Republican victory, with 1891 being the only other instance. Campaign Republican nominee John A. Roche ran as a fiscally conservative "law-and-order" candidate. Roche was regarded by many Democrats to be the lesser of two evils.Lindberg Richard C. The Gambler King of Clark Street: Michael C. McDonald and the Rise of Chicago's Democratic Machine 2009 SIU Press 978-0-8093-8654-3 140–141 https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=IUgbMFn6nCYC 19 May 2020 en The United Labor Party nominated Robert S. Nelson, who (in the absence of a Democratic nominee) was Roche's sole opponent in the election.Reds Trying to Trade https://www.newspapers.com/image/349742745 www.newspapers.com subscription Chicago Tribune en Apr 3, 1887 During the campaign, the Republicans tried to deride Nelson and his party as "socialists". Behind-the-scenes, Roche received unlikely support from some Democrats such as Michael Cassius McDonald. Incumbent mayor Harrison, while formally not backing either candidate, dismissed many Democrats' worries about the prospect of a Nelson mayoralty, and also cautioned that a Roche election could spur the passage of additional blue laws. Harrison went as far as indicating that he leaned more in favor of Nelson among the two candidates, saying, "Nelson is a representative of the laboring men, and Roche tried to be. Nelson is not a socialist. A young party is on its good behavior, and if Nelson were elected he would do his very best for himself and his party."It's a Ticklish Situation https://www.newspapers.com/image/33375714 www.newspapers.com subscription The Inter Ocean 20 December 2024 en April 2, 1887 Some prominent Chicagoans such as John M. Smyth spoke with the impression that Harrison outright supported Nelson's candidacy.Republicans or Cossack? https://www.newspapers.com/image/33375714 www.newspapers.com subscription The Inter Ocean 20 December 2024 en April 2, 1887 Results Roche received a roughly 27,000-vote margin-of-victory, which at the time was the greatest number of votes that had ever separated a Chicago mayoral winner from an election's runner-up. 1887 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 Republican Party (United States) John A. Roche 51,249 68.23 United Labor Robert S. Nelson 23,490 31.27 Prohibition Party Joseph L. Whitlock 372 0.50 75,111 References collapsed Category:Mayoral elections in Chicago Chicago Chicago Category:Carter Harrison III Category:April 1887 in the United States