1975 Chicago mayoral election

Municipal election

1975 Chicago mayoral election
← 1971 April 1, 1975 1977 (special) →
Turnout47.3%[1] Decrease 20.6 pp
 
Nominee Richard J. Daley John J. Hoellen Jr.
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 542,817 139,335
Percentage 77.67% 19.94%
Mayor before election

Richard J. Daley
Democratic

Elected Mayor

Richard J. Daley
Democratic

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The Chicago mayoral election of 1975 was held on April 1, 1975. Democratic Party incumbent Richard J. Daley was elected to a record sixth term as mayor by a landslide 59% margin over Republican nominee John J. Hoellen Jr. Only one other individual (Daley's son Richard M. Daley) has since matched Daley's feat of winning six Chicago mayoral elections. This was the first Chicago mayoral election since the ratification of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.

The election was preceded by primary elections to determine the Democratic Party and Republican Party nominations, which were on February 25, 1975. Daley was renominated by a wide margin against challenges by Chicago Alderman William Singer, Illinois State Senator Richard H. Newhouse Jr. and former Cook County State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan. The Socialist Workers Party successfully collected signatures to petition for Willie Mae Reid to be included on the general election ballot as their nominee.

Nominations

57.55% of registered voters participated in the primary elections.[2]

Democratic primary

Daley fended off several challengers. For the first time since he was elected mayor, Daley was facing what appeared to be significant opposition in a Democratic primary.[3] On paper, all three opponents he faced were serious contenders.[3] Daley's health had declined by 1974, and he had taken an extended absence to recuperate after a June 1, 1974 surgery to unclog a partially blocked carotid artery.[3] Amid this extended absence, speculation arose that Daley might not seek an additional term as mayor.[3] By 1975, many believed that Daley's political stature was beginning to wane, and he was seen to be out of touch with both the times and the climate of the city.[3] Additionally, by 1975, news stories had arisen that shows political corruption and dishonesty related to Daley and his administration.[3]

Independent alderman William Singer was more liberal than Daley.[3][4] He was reform-minded, and considered a lakefront liberal.[4] Singer announce his campaign early, doing so in October 1973.[3] The focus of Singer's campaign was the poor state of the public schools in the city.[3] Singer pledged that he would visit each and every one of the city's 584 public schools.[3] Singer also laid blame for the loss of 200,000 jobs in the city with Daley, and pledged that as mayor he would bring jobs back.[3] Singer received support from the affluent lakefront and Hyde Park, areas that were home to the lakefront liberals. Singer had a strong grassroots organization and raised and spent between $600,000 and $700,000 for his campaign.[3][5] Singer also was endorsed by congressman Ralph Metcalfe, who declined to run for mayor despite calls for him to do so.[3] Metcalfe, a one-time ally of Daley, had become critical of what he alleged was racism and brutality in the Chicago Police Department.[5]

African American State Senator Richard H. Newhouse Jr. was the first black candidate on the ballot in a Chicago mayoral election.[6][7] Originally, four black candidates had announced they would challenge Daley. However, candidates such as criminal lawyer E. Duke McNeil dropped-out to back Newhouse.[8] Ultimately, Newhouse would be the only black candidate on the ballot. This campaign came at a time when a number of major United States city's had seen notable campaigns by African-Americans for mayoralties, such as Maynard Jackson's successful campaign the previous year in Atlanta and Coleman Young's successful campaign two years prior in Detroit.[8] However, in both these cities, blacks comprised a greater portion of the populace.[8] Many supporting the efforts to elect a black mayor in Chicago in 1975 had hoped that congressman Ralph Metcalfe would run, as they believed him to have been the strongest potential black challenger to Daley.[8] However, Metcalfe, after taking some tentative steps towards possibly running and even raising some money for a possibly candidacy, declined to run.[3][8] Metcalfe endorsed Singer instead of Newhouse.[3] Newhouse received the endorsements of Jesse Jackson and his organization PUSH.[3] It would ultimately, not be until 1983 that Chicago would elect a black mayor.

Despite there being a black candidate in the race, the Chicago Defender endorsed Daley, as did noted African American publisher John H. Johnson.[3]

Former Cook County State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan also ran. His base of support was in white "ethnic" wards of the city, as black voters hated him due to the role of the office he oversaw as state's attorney in the raid that killed Fred Hampton.[5] He was seeking to stage a political comeback after having left office after scandal.[3] As a candidate, Harahan regularly attacked Daley for what he regarded to be Daley's, "arrogance of total political power."[3] During the campaign, Daley refused to appear at events which featured other contenders.[3] While Daley's previous reelection efforts had earned him the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune, in 1975 they abstained from endorsing in the Democratic primary declaring in its editorial that the choice presented in the primary was , "whether to stay about the rudderless galleon with rotting timbers or to take to the raging seas in a 17-foot outboard".[3] By the end of the primary campaign, it was evident that the race had narrowed primarily to a contest between Daley and Singer.[3] Both of these candidates made use of media.[3] While running a campaign heavily on organizing the Democratic machine on the ground, Daley used television to a greater extent than he had in his previous campaigns.[3] Singer brought in media consultant David Garth, who had recently been involved in Hugh Carey's successful New York gubernatorial campaign.[3]

Results

Daley carried a plurality of the vote in 48 of the city's 50 wards (35 of which he also had a simple majority of the vote in).[9] Singer carried an outright simple majority of the vote in the two remaining wards.[9] Daley won 57.9% of the vote. Daley's victory was seen as surprisingly large.[3] Daley saw only 48% of the vote in the predominantly African American wards.[10]

Daley outperformed expectations, while his challengers underperformed in their geographic base areas. Singer had been anticipated to prevail strongly with voters in the lakefront areas, with it being believed that the independent voters in these areas would harbor distaste for scandals which plagued the Daley Administration. Instead, Daley very narrowly led Singer in the six lakefront wards, receiving 46.5% to Singers's 46.4% there. It was expected that, with Newhouse's historic candidacy as the first black mayoral candidate in the city's history, and with the city's most prominent black politician, Metacalfe, defecting from his onetime allegiance with Daley to endorse Singer, Daley would lose a significant share of African American support. However, in the city's ten black-majority wards, Daley led with 47% to Singer's 31.2% and Newhouse's 19.9%. Hanrahan was expected to perform well in ethnically white wards. However, in the eleven white "ethnic" wards, Daley received 67.2% of the vote to Singer's 22.3% and Hanrahan's mere 7.2%.[5]

Democratic primary results[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Richard J. Daley (incumbent) 463,717 57.9
Democratic William Singer 234,470 29.3
Democratic Richard H. Newhouse Jr. 63,479 7.9
Democratic Edward Hanrahan 39,703 5.0
Total votes 801,369
Results by ward[9]
Ward Richard J. Daley William Singer Richard Newhouse Edward Hanrahan Total
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes
1 8,482 69.5% 2,554 20.9% 870 7.1% 294 2.4% 12,200
2 5,919 47.3% 4,111 32.8% 2,206 17.6% 280 2.2% 12,516
3 5,443 55.1% 2,924 29.6% 1,343 13.6% 174 1.8% 9,884
4 6,862 51.5% 4,411 33.1% 1,854 13.9% 196 1.5% 13,323
5 4,931 29.9% 8,617 52.3% 2,634 16.0% 309 1.9% 16,491
6 6,119 42.8% 4,585 32.1% 3,325 23.3% 253 1.8% 14,282
7 6,001 46.8% 4,065 31.7% 2,032 15.9% 711 5.6% 12,809
8 6,544 40.1% 5,735 35.1% 3,744 22.9% 309 1.9% 16,332
9 5,261 48.5% 3,219 29.7% 1,940 17.9% 426 3.9% 10,846
10 12,209 65.3% 3,909 20.9% 1,441 7.7% 1,128 6.0% 18,687
11 23,819 87.1% 1,945 7.1% 1,167 4.3% 430 1.6% 27,361
12 14,299 71.2% 3,438 17.1% 831 4.1% 1,506 7.5% 20,074
13 18,476 73.3% 3,957 15.7% 935 3.7% 1,841 7.3% 25,209
14 12,706 72.8% 2,803 16.1% 818 4.7% 1,133 6.5% 17,460
15 9,539 64.0% 2,954 19.8% 1,518 10.2% 887 6.0% 14,898
16 5,838 55.2% 2,789 26.4% 1,750 16.6% 191 1.8% 10,568
17 4,991 45.2% 3,679 33.3% 2,174 19.7% 204 1.8% 11,048
18 12,854 64.9% 4,046 20.4% 1,897 9.6% 994 5.0% 19,791
19 16,046 69.5% 4,782 20.7% 874 3.8% 1,381 6.0% 23,083
20 6,258 52.7% 3,268 27.5% 2,133 18.0% 207 1.7% 11,866
21 6,516 38.7% 5,994 35.6% 4,009 23.8% 334 2.0% 16,853
22 8,202 63.1% 3,029 23.3% 960 7.4% 807 6.2% 12,998
23 13,975 67.1% 4,311 20.7% 628 3.0% 1,918 9.2% 20,832
24 5,476 57.1% 2,464 25.7% 1,480 15.4% 173 1.8% 9,593
25 8,412 72.1% 2,205 18.9% 594 5.1% 451 3.9% 11,662
26 9,917 66.7% 3,120 21.0% 930 6.3% 908 6.1% 14,875
27 5,754 59.7% 2,207 22.9% 1,452 15.1% 226 2.3% 9,639
28 3,761 48.3% 2,366 30.4% 1,446 18.6% 209 2.7% 7,782
29 4,926 53.8% 2,600 28.4% 1,430 15.6% 203 2.2% 9,159
30 8,818 56.0% 4,980 31.6% 526 3.3% 1,427 9.1% 15,751
31 9,965 66.5% 3,510 23.4% 667 4.5% 834 5.6% 14,976
32 8,727 64.2% 3,561 26.2% 538 4.0% 757 5.6% 13,583
33 7,763 58.5% 4,137 31.2% 376 2.8% 996 7.5% 13,272
34 5,968 42.6% 4,546 32.5% 3,211 22.9% 281 2.0% 14,006
35 9,110 55.3% 5,480 33.3% 459 2.8% 1,418 8.6% 16,467
36 13,799 64.1% 4,716 21.9% 668 3.1% 2,358 10.9% 21,541
37 8,251 61.3% 3,229 24.0% 1,159 8.6% 816 6.1% 13,455
38 13,082 63.5% 5,097 24.7% 506 2.5% 1,916 9.3% 20,601
39 10,468 59.7% 5,622 32.1% 387 2.2% 1,043 6.0% 17,520
40 8,834 52.4% 6,775 40.2% 425 2.5% 829 4.9% 16,863
41 14,559 62.2% 6,362 27.2% 482 2.1% 2,004 8.6% 23,407
42 9,032 52.9% 6,650 39.0% 944 5.5% 437 2.6% 17,063
43 8,054 36.7% 12,723 57.9% 667 3.0% 520 2.4% 21,964
44 8,166 47.0% 8,112 46.7% 496 2.9% 592 3.4% 17,366
45 12,962 60.2% 6,020 27.9% 566 2.6% 1,992 9.2% 21,540
46 7,231 50.3% 5,978 41.6% 672 4.7% 485 3.4% 14,366
47 11,088 64.2% 4,724 27.3% 553 3.2% 912 5.3% 17,277
48 7,144 48.7% 6,280 42.8% 613 4.2% 628 4.3% 14,665
49 9,432 47.4% 9,158 46.0% 631 3.2% 686 3.4% 19,907
50 11,728 49.6% 10,723 45.3% 518 2.2% 689 2.9% 23,658
Totals 463,717 57.9% 234,470 29.3% 63,479 7.9% 39,703 5.0% 801,369

Republican primary

Despite Daley being embattled and having health problems, Republicans had difficulty recruiting a candidate to oppose him.[3] US Attorney James R. Thompson had been speculated as a potential Republican contender for 1975, but ultimately did not run.[3] The Republican Party ultimately settled on John Hoellen as a candidate.[3] Hoellen was a longtime foe of Daley, and was, by 1975, the only Republican remaining on the Chicago City Council.[3][11] Hoellen, however, was a reluctant candidate and was not optimistic of his prospects as a candidate.[3] Hoellen was a "good government"-oriented politician.[11] He hailed from the North Center neighborhood, long a German enclave of the city.[11] A fixture on the City Council, he had been known for his passionate speeches in which he criticized waste, corruption, and inefficiency.[11]

Socialist Workers nomination

The Socialist Workers Party nominated Willie Mae Reid, who collected 66,000 signatures on her candidature petition to be included on the general election ballot (a greater number of signatures than the number of votes she would ultimately receive).[12]

General election

The election was effectively a rematch of the 1954 Cook County Clerk election in which Daley was challenged by Hoellen.[3] The race was extraordinarily pro forma, with Hoellen rather ambivalent towards the race, and also focused on simultaneous campaigning to retain his aldermanic seat.[3] Hoellen failed to even achieve strong support among fellow Republicans.[3]

Results

Daley won a majority of the vote in each of the city's 50 wards.[3][13] Hoellen also lost his reelection campaign as alderman.[3]

Mayor of Chicago 1975 election[14] (General election)
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Richard J. Daley (incumbent) 542,817 77.67
Republican John J. Hoellen Jr. 139,335 19.94
Socialist Workers Willie Mae Reid 16,693 2.39
Turnout 698,845
Results by ward[13]
Ward Richard J. Daley
(Democratic Party)		 John J. Hoellen
(Republican Party)		 Willie Mae Reid
(Socialist Workers Party)		 Total
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes
1 9,455 89.3% 964 9.1% 170 1.6% 10,589
2 7,695 82.6% 1,178 12.6% 446 4.8% 9,319
3 6,657 88.1% 669 8.9% 231 3.1% 7,557
4 8,648 81.8% 1,410 13.3% 520 4.9% 10,578
5 7,000 52.3% 4,494 33.6% 1,890 14.1% 13,384
6 7,733 78.9% 1,512 15.4% 561 5.7% 9,806
7 8,533 75.7% 2,079 18.4% 661 5.9% 11,273
8 7,868 79.0% 1,400 14.1% 686 6.9% 9,954
9 5,428 82.0% 918 13.9% 272 4.1% 6,618
10 11,567 84.4% 1,905 13.9% 232 1.7% 13,704
11 25,554 95.2% 1,209 4.5% 84 0.3% 26,847
12 16,006 84.3% 2,870 15.1% 104 0.5% 18,980
13 20,820 83.5% 4,000 16.0% 111 0.4% 24,931
14 14,180 87.9% 1,849 11.5% 105 0.7% 16,134
15 11,088 83.8% 1,948 14.7% 190 1.4% 13,226
16 6,802 87.9% 632 8.2% 300 3.9% 7,734
17 7,071 80.6% 1,152 13.1% 555 6.3% 8,778
18 13,964 84.7% 2,213 13.4% 315 1.9% 16,492
19 19,195 76.1% 5,779 22.9% 258 1.0% 25,232
20 7,385 83.8% 1,042 11.8% 383 4.3% 8,810
21 8,221 78.1% 1,564 14.9% 741 7.0% 10,526
22 10,056 85.5% 1,543 13.1% 162 1.4% 11,761
23 15,027 80.7% 3,498 18.8% 93 0.5% 18,618
24 7,519 91.2% 502 6.1% 223 2.7% 8,244
25 10,352 91.0% 931 8.2% 87 0.8% 11,370
26 11,927 89.4% 1,308 9.8% 108 0.8% 13,343
27 8,910 93.0% 521 5.4% 153 1.6% 9,584
28 4,766 87.7% 482 8.9% 185 3.4% 5,433
29 5,778 89.7% 486 7.5% 178 2.8% 6,442
30 10,327 73.1% 3,675 26.0% 124 0.9% 14,126
31 13,279 89.7% 1,400 9.5% 131 0.9% 14,810
32 10,362 83.7% 1,901 15.3% 124 1.0% 12,387
33 8,150 74.0% 2,724 24.7% 135 1.2% 11,009
34 7,435 83.0% 1,041 11.6% 483 5.4% 8,959
35 12,107 67.4% 5,593 31.1% 271 1.5% 17,971
36 16,991 76.8% 4,989 22.5% 151 0.7% 22,131
37 9,624 82.7% 1,813 15.6% 201 1.7% 11,638
38 15,626 73.2% 5,585 26.2% 144 0.7% 21,355
39 11,676 71.6% 4,469 27.4% 167 1.0% 16,312
40 9,905 67.4% 4,508 30.7% 278 1.9% 14,691
41 16,281 68.2% 7,443 31.2% 164 0.7% 23,888
42 10,016 73.0% 3,325 24.2% 379 2.8% 13,720
43 9,592 53.7% 6,908 38.7% 1,350 7.6% 17,850
44 8,240 68.2% 3,452 28.6% 395 3.3% 12,087
45 15,844 67.6% 7,373 31.4% 233 1.0% 23,450
46 7,602 70.6% 2,853 26.5% 312 2.9% 10,767
47 11,589 62.9% 6,669 36.2% 172 0.9% 18,430
48 9,367 62.3% 5,137 34.2% 532 3.5% 15,036
49 9,684 68.8% 3,812 27.1% 579 4.1% 14,075
50 13,929 74.1% 4,495 23.9% 369 2.0% 18,793
Totals 542,831 77.7% 139,223 19.9% 16,698 2.4% 698,752

References

  1. ^ Denvir, Daniel (May 22, 2015). "Voter Turnout in U.S. Mayoral Elections Is Pathetic, But It Wasn't Always This Way". City Lab (The Atlantic). Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  2. ^ Franklin, Tim (February 23, 1983). "Voter turnout of 80 percent dwarfs record". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj Cohen, Adam; Taylor, Elizabeth (2001). American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley - His Battle for Chicago and the Nation. Little, Brown. pp. 69, 309–311. ISBN 978-0-7595-2427-9.
  4. ^ a b Green, Paul M.; Holli, Melvin G. (January 10, 2013). "The Mayors: The Chicago Political Tradition, fourth edition". SIU Press. pp. 159, 163. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d Stewart, Russ (April 27, 2005). "Daley's "Troubles" Pale by Comparison to Father's". Russ Stewart. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  6. ^ Madhani, Aamer (May 2, 2002). "RICHARD NEWHOUSE JR., 78". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  7. ^ McClory, Robert (September 13, 1990). "The Invisible Man". Chicago Reader. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e Delaney, Paul (December 21, 1974). "Blacks Unlikely to Unseat Daley". The New York Times. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d "Election Results for 1975 Primary Election, Mayor, Chicago, Illinois (Democratic Party)". Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  10. ^ Fujinaga, Yasumasa (2014). "Black Power at the Polls: The Harold Washington Campaign of 1983 and the Demise of the Democratic Machine in Chicago" (PDF). The Japanese Journal of American Studies (25). Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c d Joravsky, Ben (June 25, 2009). "The Grand Old Party's Last Stand". Chicago Reader. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  12. ^ "Socialist Aims for the Vice-Presidency". Milwaukee Journal. January 6, 1976. p. 3. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  13. ^ a b "Election Results for 1975 General Election, Mayor, Chicago, IL".
  14. ^ "Board of Election Commissioners For the City of Chicago Mayoral Election Results Since 1900 General Elections Only". Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. July 18, 2004. Archived from the original on July 18, 2004. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
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