| Election Name: | 1881 Chicago mayoral election |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Year: | 1879 |
| Next Year: | 1883 |
| Election Date: | April 5, 1881 |
| Image1: | Carter Harrison, Sr. - Brady-Handy (3x4a).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Carter Harrison Sr. |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 35,668 |
| Percentage1: | 55.22% |
| Nominee2: | John M. Clark |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 27,925 |
| Percentage2: | 43.23% |
| Mayor | |
| Before Election: | Carter Harrison Sr. |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Carter Harrison Sr. |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The Chicago mayoral election of 1881 was held on April 5, saw the incumbent mayor, Democrat Carter Harrison Sr., defeat Republican Candidate John M. Clark. Harrison won a majority of the vote with a nearly twelve point margin of victory.
The election took place on April 5.[1] [2] Unlike in the previous mayoral election, the Socialist Labor Party's nominee did not have much of an impact.
Harrison's Republican opponent, John M. Clark was a Chicago alderman that had been elected to the Chicago City Council two years earlier.[3]
Harrison's sizable victory came despite the fact that Republicans had carried the city in the 1880 elections by a similar vote margin.[4]
The Democratic Party re-nominated incumbent mayor Carter Harrison Sr.
At its March 22 convention, the Republican Party nominated John M. Clark. Clark was an incumbent member of the Chicago Common Council (city council). The convention's nomination saw four names placed into consideration. None of the four men had actively sought the nomination for themself. Clark was nominated largely because convention delegates believed he was the most likely of the four men to accept their nomination. Of the considered candidates, he had strong support among the city party rank-and-file as well as its wealthy business elite. Clark was understood to be an ally of business interests.[5]
Timothy O'Mara ran as an independent candidate, and George Schilling ran as the nominee of the Socialist Labor Party.