1887 Chicago mayoral election

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 Socialist Robert S. Nelson by more than 36 points (a margin of victory which was itself greater than Nelson's vote share).

1887 Chicago mayoral election

April 5, 1887[1]

Nominee John A. Roche Robert S. Nelson Party Republican Socialist Labor Popular vote 51,249 23,490 Percentage 68.23% 31.27%

Mayor before election Carter Harrison Sr. Democratic Elected Mayor John A. Roche Republican

Lack of Democratic nominee

The Democratic Party failed to field a candidate.

Incumbent Democrat Carter Harrison Sr. had opted to retire as mayor.[2][3] Harrison had lost the backing of his party. This came amid declining public support for Harrison. Among other reasons, Harrison had lost the Party’s backing were his handling of the Haymarket Riot and his failure to receive the endorsement of the United Labor Party (which he had attempted to convince to support him in the fusion ticket with the Democrats).[4][5] His handling of the Haymarket affair also harmed his standing with business groups..[5] Another factor in his decision to not seek reelection was election scandals relating to charges brought against individuals of election fraud which, while having little to do with Harrison's own personal conduct, were still prospectively damaging to his chances of victory.[5][6]

The Democratic Party nominated DeWitt Clinton Cregier, who refused their nomination.[3] After this, and despite his declared intent to retire, they attempted to nominate Harrison, who also refused their nomination.[3]

Campaign

Roche ran as a fiscally conservative "law-and-order" candidate.[5]

Roche was regarded by many Democrats to be the lesser of two evils.[7] Behind-the-scenes, Roche received unlikely support from such Democrats at Michael C. McDonald.[7] Incumbent Harrison, while 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.[7]

Results

Roche received a roughly 27,000-vote margin-of-victory, at the time the greatest in the city's history.[7]

1887 Chicago mayoral election[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John A. Roche	51,249	68.23
	Socialist Labor	Robert S. Nelson	23,490	31.27
	Prohibition	Joseph L. Whitlock	372	0.50
Turnout			75,111

References

1. Currey, Josiah Seymour (1912). Chicago: Its History and Its Builders, a Century of Marvelous Growth. S. J. Clarke publishing Company. p. 335.
2. 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.
3. History of Chicago, Illinois by John Moses page 233 (293 in Google's digitalized form)
4. http://www.wiu.edu/cas/history/wihr/pdfs/Buller-WIHRvol2.pdf
5. Miller, Donald L. (2014). City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America. Rosetta Books. pp. 731–732. ISBN 978-0-7953-3985-1. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
6. Morton, Richard Allen (29 June 2016). "Roger C. Sullivan and the Making of the Chicago Democratic Machine, 1881-1908". McFarland. p. 39. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
7. Lindberg, Richard C. (2009). The Gambler King of Clark Street: Michael C. McDonald and the Rise of Chicago's Democratic Machine. SIU Press. pp. 140–141. ISBN 978-0-8093-8654-3. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
8. The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1912. Chicago Daily News, Incorporated. 1911. p. 464. Retrieved 12 May 2020.