1849 Chicago mayoral election explained

Election Name:1849 Chicago mayoral election
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Year:1848
Next Year:1850
Nominee1:James H. Woodworth
Party1:Independent Democrat
Popular Vote1:2,668
Percentage1:80.02%
Nominee2:Timothy Wait
Party2:Other
Popular Vote2:399
Percentage2:11.97%
Mayor
Before Election:James H. Woodworth
Before Party:Independent Democrat
After Election:James H. Woodworth
After Party:Independent Democrat
Nominee3:Lewis C. Kerchival
Party3:Other
Popular Vote3:245
Percentage3:7.35%

In the Chicago mayoral election of 1849, incumbent James H. Woodworth was reelected in a landslide.

This election made Woodworth the first Chicago mayor to be successfully reelected to a second consecutive term (an accolade that would have belonged to Augustus Garrett had the results of the March 1844 Chicago mayoral election not been declared null). Woodworth was also only the third mayor to be elected to a second term, after only Benjamin Wright Raymond and Augustus Garrett.

Campaign

The election is notable for the lack of political party involvement.[1] With the major national political parties disintegrating over the national debate surrounding slavery, the 1849 mayoral campaign lacked party conventions to nominate candidates.[1] Instead, candidates were self-nominated.[1] There was also a lack of party-organized efforts to support any candidate.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Goodspeed . Weston A. . The History of Cook County, Illinois . Feb 6, 2017 . Jazzybee Verlag.