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The Chicago mayoral election of 1983 began with the primary on February 22, 1983, which was followed by the general on April 12, 1983. The election saw the election of Chicago's first African-American mayor, Harold Washington.
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| Turnout | 82.07%[1]  21.7 pp | ||||||||||||||||
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 Washington: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Epton: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% No votes | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Mayor Jane Byrne, who had served since April 16, 1979, faced a primary challenge from Cook County State's Attorney Richard M. Daley and from U.S. Congressman Harold Washington. Washington defeated Byrne and Daley in the Democratic primary in February 1983, winning by nearly 3 points.
In the general election, Washington would face off against Republican nominee Bernard Epton. Though initially thought to be a longshot, backlash to Washington among white voters propelled Epton's candidacy, creating a more competitive race. Washington would win with a 3.7% lead over Epton in a high-turnout election.
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The Democratic Party and Republican Party held their primaries on February 22.[2] 77.5% of registered voters voted in the primaries.[3] This was a very high turnout for Chicago mayoral primaries.[4]
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Since winning an upset victory in the 1979 Democratic primary and a landslide victory in that year's general election, Jane Byrne had had a tumultuous term as mayor.[5] Nevertheless, she had secured support for her re-nomination from 33 of the city's aldermen.[5] A three-way race emerged between Byrne, congressman Harold Washington, and Cook County State's Attorney Richard M. Daley (the son of former mayor Richard J. Daley).[5]
Two months ahead of the primary, the city's Democratic Party organization endorsed Byrne.[6] Of the candidates, Byrne's campaign had the most funds, raising more than $3 million.[5] She had been spending much of her funds very early on television commercials to overhaul her image, attempting to transform her image to that of a steady and serious figure who had straightened out what had been a chaotic city government.[5] While Byrne had previously, in 1979, presented herself as a protegee of former mayor Richard J. Daley, she now blamed him for many of the city's financial shortcomings.[5]
Daley's own son Richard M. Daley capitalized off a desire which many Chicagoans held (despite Byrne's criticisms) to return to what they perceived to have been comparatively stable years which the city had experienced under Richard J. Daley's leadership.[5] Newspapers had speculated about a Daley candidacy since the start of the Byrne administration. Byrne recognized the threat posed by the younger Daley and sought to contain him. In the 1980 Cook County State's Attorney election, Byrne backed Ed Burke in the Democratic primary and later Republican Bernard Carey in the general election, both of whom were defeated by Daley.[7] However, the younger Daley struggled with a perception that he was a lightweight compared to his father.[5] There was also a perception at the time that the younger Daley held an inferior intellect to those of his opponents.[5] When Daley officially launched his campaign in September 1982, polls showed him ahead of or tied with Byrne.[8] A voting bloc which was sought after were the independent-leaning Democrats often called "lakefront liberals".[5] They had backed Byrne in the 1979 primary, but were hesitant to back her again.[5]
Washington had been the favorite among much of Chicago's African American Community, and a movement to draft Harold was led by former journalist, and community activist Lu Palmer.[9] A poll by the Chicago Black United Communities (CBUC) found Washington to be the favorite among 10 prospective black candidates.[10] Washington initially did not accept any overtures to run. On July 26, 1982, at an event intended to nominate Harold for mayor, he said in a speech that the campaign was about "the plan, not the man".[11][12] Washington also wanted a guarantee that the campaign would have adequate resources and an increase in black voter registration.[13] In the aftermath of this, activists registered more than 100,000 new voters, and with Daley and Byrne fighting each other, there was a credible path for Washington. On November 10, 1982, Washington announced in Hyde Park he would run for mayor.[14]
Much of the city's white electorate was split between Byrne and Daley.[15][16] The fact that neither Byrne nor Daley were able to consolidate the white electorate around their candidacy provided Washington an opportunity to win a plurality of the overall vote.[15] While Washington was anticipated to do well among African-American voters, he would not have been able to capture the nomination on African-American support alone.[5] Because Washington's campaign had issues with lower name recognition at first, Byrne and Daley opted to not make any racially charged attacks on Washington in the hopes of winning over black voters.[17] Chairman Edward Vrdolyak was alleged to have encouraged voters to back Byrne, warning that a vote for Daley was a vote for Washington. Vrdolyak said "It’s a racial thing. Don’t kid yourself. I’m calling on you to save your city, to save your precinct. We’re fighting to keep the city the way it is." Washington condemned the remarks and Byrne was dismissive of making race an issue.[18]
In the closing days of the campaign, Byrne was on the defense, particularly from attacks being lodged by Daley.[19] Daley, meanwhile, was struggling to convince voters that he was no longer in third place.[19] Washington entered the television ad campaign later than the other candidates, only having barely $1 million to spend on his campaign.[20] Byrne spent a total of $10 million on her campaign,[20] $5 million more than her 1979 campaign. Daley won the endorsements of both of the city's major newspapers,[21] the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times[22]
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The election was held on Tuesday, February 22, 1983.[5] 1.2 million Chicagoans went to polls to cast their ballot, noted then as the largest turnout since 25 years earlier in 1958.[20] Turnout was 77.5%.[1] Washington received 36.3% of the citywide vote[20] and roughly 80% of the African-American vote.[20][34] Mayor Byrne had 33.6% of the citywide vote and Daley came in third place with 29.7%. The election saw a record-setting 69% of registered African-American voter turnout.[20] Author Paul Green would later say that Daley was not adequately prepared to run in 1983, lacking an efficient political organization, significant political experience, and lacking an understanding of the issues and demographics of the city.[35]
| 1983 Chicago Democratic Party Mayoral Primary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | +/- | |
| Harold Washington | 424,324 | 36.3% | N/A | |
| Jane Byrne (incumbent) | 393,500 | 33.6% | -17.4% | |
| Richard M. Daley | 346,835 | 29.7% | N/A | |
| Frank R. Ranallo | 2,367 | 0.2% | N/A | |
| William Markowski | 1,412 | 0.1% | N/A | |
| Sheila Jones | 1,285 | 0.1% | N/A | |
| Majority | 30,824 | 2.6% | +0.6% | |
| Total | 1,169,723 | 100% | N/A | |
Former state Representative Bernard Epton won the Republican nomination.[5] Epton had reluctantly run after being urged by party leaders.[36] Governor James Thompson had even personally called Epton, offering his campaign staff to help out.[37] Epton was the only established figure who agreed to seek the nomination, and had all but formally secured the nomination at party meetings in November.[38] Chicago had not elected a Republican mayor in 56 years (since the 1927 Chicago mayoral election).[5] At the time, Chicago had no Republican aldermen on its City Council.[5] While Chicago was regarded as overwhelmingly Democratic, it was hoped by many Republicans that if Washington were nominated by the Democrats, many white voters would vote for the Republican nominee.[5] Epton stated, "Chicago has been regarded for too long as a Democratic stronghold. It's about time we change that image."[5] Epton was ultimately unopposed on the Republican primary ballot[39] after candidates Ralph G. Medly,[40] William Arthur Murray,[41] and Raymond Wardingley[42] saw their names removed from the ballot due to issues with their petitions. Wardingly had been a candidate in the previous election's primary. During the primary, Epton raised $41,000, of which almost entirely came from self-donations or donations from family.[43]
Ed Warren ran as an independent candidate.
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2018) |
After Washington's primary victory, a backlash began to emerge among white voters. In the days after, Republican Party headquarters were filled with volunteers.[44][45] A week afterward, Epton's rallies were attended by people wearing bags with "Unknown Democrats for Epton" written on them.[46] Moreover, Democratic Alderman were reticent to support Washington. The first Alderman to endorse Epton was Aloysius Majerczyk.[47] Majerczyk said his constituents "are giving me a message of racial pride. . . . They’re afraid of scattered-site housing. They’re concerned about the stability of our neighborhoods."[48] Other white aldermen followed, implicitly or explicitly.[47] Edward Vrdolyak, chair of the Cook County Democratic Party, offered only tepid support for Washington, and allegedly maintained contact with the Epton campaign.[49]
In spite of this, Epton promised to not make race an issue.[50] He vowed not to make personal attacks and spoke highly of Washington, whom he had served in the state legislature with.[51] James Fletcher, who ran James R. Thompson's first successful gubernatorial campaign, became Epton's general election campaign manager. High-profile figures such as Republican Senator Paul Laxalt (chairman of the RNC) campaigned for Epton.[52]
On March 17, Byrne announced she was running as a write-in candidate, claiming of Epton and Washington ''neither of them represents the best interest of Chicago; neither of them has a program for Chicago.''[2] Epton believed that Byrne's candidacy would hurt his candidacy and help Washington.[2] Washington was critical of her campaign, though privately saw the campaign as helpful for his candidacy. Byrne's candidacy was met with resistance from Democratic aldermen, and Ted Kennedy personally visited with Byrne to convince her to drop the campaign. After being booed at a Southside nursing home, Byrne withdrew after only a week.[53] In addition to a lack of support, Byrne had hoped to avoid a court battle with the Chicago Board of Elections over the simplification of write-in procedures.[54]
As the race went on, it became increasingly competitive, with some newspapers characterizing it as a "tossup".[55] Epton was polling double what a Republican typically polled in Chicago mayoral races.[56] The race also grew very bitter, as the last weeks of the campaign saw various attacks from Epton's campaign. Epton made frequent reference to Washington's past legal troubles, including a failure to pay his taxes and a brief suspension of his law license.[57] Epton's ads used the slogan "Epton- Before it's too late", which capitalized on the fears of white voters.[58] Washington's campaign, meanwhile, took advantage of claims that Epton had been institutionalized multiple times for depression and attacked Epton's slogan for its racially tinged messaging.[59][60]
On March 27, an incident occurred at St. Pascal's Catholic Church on the northwest side where Washington and former Vice President Walter Mondale were accosted by protestors.[61] The incident received national attention, including a cover story in Newsweek titled "Chicago's Ugly Election", and similar stories appeared in other outlets as well.[62] Subsequently, Washington's team made advertisements using footage of the protestors to highlight to white liberals the level of racism behind the opposition to Washington.[63] In the last days of the campaign, a flier circulated accusing Washington of being a child molester. This enraged Washington, who delivered a speech criticizing Epton's character, which earned applause and cheers from a predominantly white audience.[64]
The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times both endorsed Washington.[22]
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2019) |
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The election saw a massive voter turnout, with more than 82 percent of eligible voters casting ballots.[1] This race had one of the highest turnouts in Chicago history.[71]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Harold Washington | 668,176 | 51.72 | |
| Republican | Bernard Epton | 619,926 | 47.99 | |
| Independent | Ed Warren | 3,756 | 0.29 | |
| Turnout | 1,291,858 | |||
Washington's coalition of voters consisted of the city's African American population with the additional support of "lakefront liberals" and the city's Latino community. Therefore, he performed best in heavily black wards, as well as lakeshore wards and heavily Latino wards.[73] In black wards, turnout was no lower than 73% and Washington garnered around 97% of the black vote.[74]
Epton carried a plurality of the vote in 28 of the city's 50 wards, while Washington carried a plurality of the vote in 22 wards.[75][73]
| Ward[75] | Harold Washington (Democratic Party) | Bernard Epton (Republican Party) | Ed Warren (Socialist Workers Party) | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | |
| 1 | 13,026 | 62.4% | 7,777 | 37.3% | 65 | 0.3% | 20,868 |
| 2 | 22,738 | 97.4% | 558 | 2.4% | 42 | 0.2% | 23,338 |
| 3 | 24,470 | 99.1% | 178 | 0.7% | 48 | 0.2% | 24,696 |
| 4 | 24,420 | 92.3% | 1,981 | 7.5% | 70 | 0.3% | 26,471 |
| 5 | 24,729 | 90.8% | 2,455 | 9.0% | 45 | 0.2% | 27,229 |
| 6 | 34,727 | 99.2% | 240 | 0.7% | 43 | 0.1% | 35,010 |
| 7 | 17,293 | 81.9% | 3,771 | 17.9% | 45 | 0.2% | 21,109 |
| 8 | 31,095 | 98.5% | 457 | 1.4% | 28 | 0.1% | 31,580 |
| 9 | 23,979 | 93.9% | 1,518 | 5.9% | 29 | 0.1% | 25,526 |
| 10 | 10,103 | 33.9% | 19,609 | 65.8% | 94 | 0.3% | 29,806 |
| 11 | 7,186 | 25.8% | 20,515 | 73.8% | 98 | 0.4% | 27,799 |
| 12 | 3,836 | 15.4% | 21,042 | 84.2% | 99 | 0.4% | 24,977 |
| 13 | 1,457 | 4.0% | 34,856 | 95.7% | 100 | 0.3% | 36,413 |
| 14 | 3,864 | 16.1% | 20,095 | 83.5% | 94 | 0.4% | 24,053 |
| 15 | 15,949 | 60.3% | 10,451 | 39.5% | 62 | 0.2% | 26,462 |
| 16 | 25,646 | 98.9% | 221 | 0.9% | 56 | 0.2% | 25,923 |
| 17 | 29,233 | 99.1% | 205 | 0.7% | 53 | 0.2% | 29,491 |
| 18 | 14,889 | 43.7% | 19,081 | 56.0% | 79 | 0.2% | 34,049 |
| 19 | 7,045 | 20.0% | 28,072 | 79.7% | 105 | 0.3% | 35,222 |
| 20 | 25,701 | 99.0% | 220 | 0.8% | 40 | 0.2% | 25,961 |
| 21 | 32,967 | 99.1% | 275 | 0.8% | 32 | 0.1% | 33,274 |
| 22 | 4,674 | 51.9% | 4,279 | 47.5% | 46 | 0.5% | 8,999 |
| 23 | 1,373 | 4.1% | 32,399 | 95.6% | 101 | 0.3% | 33,873 |
| 24 | 24,259 | 99.2% | 129 | 0.5% | 63 | 0.3% | 24,451 |
| 25 | 5,925 | 49.1% | 6,099 | 50.5% | 51 | 0.4% | 12,075 |
| 26 | 7,449 | 45.5% | 8,823 | 53.9% | 96 | 0.6% | 16,368 |
| 27 | 20,706 | 92.7% | 1,577 | 7.1% | 58 | 0.3% | 22,341 |
| 28 | 22,335 | 98.6% | 224 | 1.0% | 103 | 0.5% | 22,662 |
| 29 | 19,882 | 92.7% | 1,530 | 7.1% | 43 | 0.2% | 21,455 |
| 30 | 3,033 | 12.6% | 20,947 | 87.1% | 72 | 0.3% | 24,052 |
| 31 | 9,856 | 60.4% | 6,396 | 39.2% | 77 | 0.5% | 16,329 |
| 32 | 8,266 | 43.8% | 10,515 | 55.7% | 98 | 0.5% | 18,879 |
| 33 | 6,909 | 37.7% | 11,296 | 61.7% | 101 | 0.6% | 18,306 |
| 34 | 29,354 | 98.8% | 336 | 1.1% | 32 | 0.1% | 29,722 |
| 35 | 3,412 | 15.4% | 18,647 | 84.2% | 85 | 0.4% | 22,144 |
| 36 | 1,647 | 4.9% | 31,944 | 94.8% | 95 | 0.3% | 33,686 |
| 37 | 17,549 | 76.8% | 5,251 | 23.0% | 57 | 0.2% | 22,857 |
| 38 | 1,881 | 5.7% | 30,939 | 94.0% | 100 | 0.3% | 32,920 |
| 39 | 3,127 | 12.3% | 22,159 | 87.3% | 92 | 0.4% | 25,378 |
| 40 | 3,772 | 17.1% | 18,202 | 82.5% | 91 | 0.4% | 22,065 |
| 41 | 2,380 | 6.8% | 32,725 | 93.0% | 75 | 0.2% | 35,180 |
| 42 | 12,496 | 45.5% | 14,891 | 54.2% | 67 | 0.2% | 27,454 |
| 43 | 11,006 | 35.8% | 19,618 | 63.9% | 93 | 0.3% | 30,717 |
| 44 | 10,613 | 39.2% | 16,372 | 60.4% | 105 | 0.4% | 27,090 |
| 45 | 2,376 | 6.9% | 31,737 | 92.8% | 91 | 0.3% | 34,204 |
| 46 | 10,251 | 46.8% | 11,542 | 52.7% | 108 | 0.5% | 21,901 |
| 47 | 4,515 | 18.0% | 20,397 | 81.5% | 125 | 0.5% | 25,037 |
| 48 | 9,433 | 43.3% | 12,269 | 56.3% | 88 | 0.4% | 21,790 |
| 49 | 9,719 | 42.9% | 12,815 | 56.6% | 109 | 0.5% | 22,643 |
| 50 | 5,001 | 18.2% | 22,368 | 81.4% | 103 | 0.4% | 27,472 |
| Totals | 667,552 | 51.7% | 620,003 | 48.0% | 3,752 | 0.3% | 1,291,307 |
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