| 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]