2003 Chicago mayoral election


The Chicago mayoral election of 2003 saw incumbent Mayor Richard M. Daley easily reelected against small and divided opposition, resulting in his best electoral showing of his career, winning by a landslide 64 point margin.

Candidates

Incumbent mayor Richard M. Daley ran without significant challengers on the ballot. His challengers could have potentially been denied ballot access had Daley challenged them for collecting an insufficient number of valid signatures in their petitions. In such an instance, Daley would have been unopposed on the ballot. However Daley did not challenge his opponents' ballot access.

On ballot

  • Richard M. Daley, incumbent mayor
  • Paul Jakes Jr., minister
  • Joseph McAfee, minister
  • Patricia McAllister, businesswoman

Withdrew after qualifying for ballot

  • Robert Floid Plump, minister and musician

Withdrew without submitting ballot petition

Campaign

On December 9, 2002, a spokesperson for Daley confirmed that Daley would be announcing his candidacy for re-election. Daley's candidacy was widely anticipated. A popular incumbent, Daley had won strong victories in the preceding four consecutive mayoral elections. He was anticipated to become the city's second-longest tenured mayor when he surpassed Edward Joseph Kelly at the end of the term he was already elected to.
All three of Daley's opponents were African Americans. Both Jakes, and McAfee were clergy. McAllister was a businesswoman. A fourth African-American candidate, Robert Floid Plump, withdrew in mid-January citing concern about splitting the African-American vote. Also briefly challenging Daley, but withdrawing from the race before ballot petitions were to be submitted, had been James Meeks.
All of Daley's opponents on the ballot had little electoral experience. They struggled in fundraising and failed to receive backing from black leaders. They also lacked name recognition. Their prospects of unseating Daley were seen as dim. While the election was nonpartisan, all candidates running were Democrats.
As was the case in all of his reelection campaigns, Daley did not attend any debates.The last debate he had engaged in was during the 1989 Democratic mayoral primary.
In the final weeks before the election, Daley's mother died, and the city saw fatal tragedy with the E2 nightclub stampede. After his mother's death, Daley ceased making campaign appearances, though he continued airing television advertisements.

Results

The election saw what was, up to that point, the lowest turnout in Chicago mayoral election history. Daley won a majority of the vote in each of the city's 50 wards.
Daley received his highest-ever vote share, surpassing the 71.91% he had received in the previous election. His 78.46% was the third-highest vote share in Chicago mayoral history, behind only Jane Byrne's 1979 share of 82.05% and James H. Woodworth's 1849 share of 80.02%. He surpassed his own father's best result of 77.67% in 1975.
By winning his fifth mayoral election, Daley tied Carter Harrison III and Carter Harrison IV for the second-most mayoral election victories in Chicago history. Daley would subsequently win an additional mayoral election in 2007, thereby surpassing both Harrisons and tying his own father's record for the most mayoral election victories.