1851 Chicago mayoral election

Chicago mayoral election, 1851

Candidate Walter S. Gurnee Eli B. Williams James Curtiss Party Democratic Democratic Popular vote 3,032 1,092 1,001 Percentage 56.66% 20.41% 18.71%

Mayor before election James Curtiss Democratic Elected mayor Walter S. Gurnee Democratic

In the 1851 Chicago mayoral election, Walter S. Gurnee defeated incumbent mayor James Curtiss as well as Eli B. Williams and Edward K. Rogers by a landslide 36.25% margin.

The Whig Party decided against nominating a ticket in the 1851 Chicago municipal elections.^[1]

Results

Gurnee defeated incumbent Democrat James Curtiss as well as Eli B. Williams and Edward K. Rogers.^[2]

Owing to a large number of the city's residents not being in compliance with new election laws, an unprecedented number of prospective voters were refused tickets.^[1]

Gurnee received a plurality of votes from all major political parties.^[1] It is believed that his vote total from Whigs was as great as his vote total from Democrats.^[1] Many political analysts treated the election (which unseated incumbent Democrat James Curtiss) as a "Whig Party victory".^[1]

1851 Chicago mayoral election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Walter S. Gurnee	3,032	56.66
		Eli B. Williams	1,092	20.41
	Democratic	James Curtiss (incumbent)	1,001	18.71
		Edward K. Rogers	226	4.22
Turnout			5,351

References

1. Goodspeed, Weston A. (February 6, 2017). The History of Cook County, Illinois. Jazzybee Verlag.
2. "RaceID=486030". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 16, 2018.