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

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Chicago

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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 voters not being in compliance with new election laws, an unprecedented number of 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

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Goodspeed, Weston A. (Feb 6, 2017). The History of Cook County, Illinois. Jazzybee Verlag.
^ "RaceID=486030". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2018-12-16.

v t e Elections in Illinois
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Chicago mayoral	1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 (Mar) 1844 (Apr) 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1876 (Apr) 1876 (Jul) 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 (Apr) 1893 (Dec) 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1911 1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1977 1979 1983 1987 1989 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
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