The Chicago mayoral election of 1887 saw

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

John A. Roche win by a landslide, receiving more than a two-thirds majority of the vote, defeating

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

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 Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

had failed to field a candidate.

Lack of Democratic nominee

Incumbent Democratic Mayor Carter Harrison Sr. had opted to retire.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)
/ref> Harrison lost the backing of his party amid declining public support. Among the reasons Harrison had lost the Party's backing were his handling of the

Haymarket Riot The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in ...

and his failure to receive the endorsement of the

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, which he had sought for a

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ticket with the Democrats. Additionally, his handling of the Haymarket affair also harmed his standing with

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

business groups. Furthermore, his decision not to seek reelection was influenced by election scandals involving charges of fraud against some individuals. Though these charges had little to do with Harrison's own personal conduct, they posed a prospective threat to his chances of victory. The Democratic Party nominated DeWitt Clinton Cregier, who refused their nomination. After this, and despite his declared intent to retire, they attempted to nominate Harrison, who also refused their nomination.

Campaign

nominee John A. Roche ran as a

fiscally conservative Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and ''laissez-faire'' economics.M. O. Dickerson et al., '' ...

" law-and-order" candidate. Roche was regarded by many Democrats to be the

lesser of two evils The lesser of two evils principle, also referred to as the lesser evil principle and lesser-evilism, is the principle that when faced with selecting from two immoral options, the least immoral one should be chosen. The principle is sometimes rec ...

. Behind-the-scenes, Roche received unlikely support from such Democrats as

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 machine ...

. 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.

Results

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

References

Mayoral elections in Chicago

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

1880s in Illinois {{Chicago-stub