The

Chicago mayoral election (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

of 1885 saw Democratic incumbent

Carter Harrison Sr. Carter Henry Harrison Sr. (February 15, 1825October 28, 1893) was an American politician who served as mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1879 until 1887; he was subsequently elected to a fifth term in 1893 but was assassinated before completing t ...

win an unprecedented fourth term, receiving a majority of voter and narrowly defeating Republican Sidney Smith by a less than half-percent margin of victory. The election was held on April 7.

Campaign

Democratic Mayor Harrison was challenged by Republican challenger, Sidney Smith, a judge of the Superior Court of Cook County. Before being nominated at the city's Republican convention, Smith had declared they would not actively seek to run and would only run if nominated by the Republican Party's convention. 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)
/ref> In February 1885, a month before the election, a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

found

Michael Cassius McDonald Michael Cassius McDonald (1839 – August 9, 1907) was a crime boss, political boss, and businessman based out of Chicago. He is considered to have introduced organized crime to the city, and to have also established its first political machin ...

's right-hand man Joseph Mackin and others with connections to Harrison guilty of

election fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

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. Harrison lost the support of many liberal German-American voters that had previously voted for him.

Results

Harrison narrowly won the election. 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.

References

{{Illinois elections Mayoral elections in Chicago Chicago Chicago 1880s in Chicago