1983 Chicago mayoral election
Municipal election / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Chicago mayoral election of 1983 was first 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 Harold Washington. Washington defeated Byrne and Dailey 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 closer race. Washington would end up winning with a 3.7% lead over Epton in a high turnout election.