1977 Chicago mayoral special election

1977 Chicago mayoral special election

← 1975 June 7, 1977 1979 →
Turnout40%[1] Decrease 7.3 pp
 
Nominee Michael A. Bilandic Dennis H. Block
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 490,688 135,282
Percentage 77.3% 21.3%

Mayor before election

Michael A. Bilandic (appointed)
Democratic

Elected Mayor

Michael A. Bilandic
Democratic

The Chicago mayoral election of 1977 was a special election held on June 7, 1977, to complete the remainder of the unexpired mayoral term of Richard J. Daley who died of a heart attack in December 1976. The election saw Interim Mayor Michael A. Bilandic win the election. Bliandic defeated Republican city council member Dennis H. Block by a landslide 56% margin.[2][3]

The election was preceded by February primary elections to determine the Democratic Party and Republican Party nominations. Bilandic won a strong victory over several opponents in the Democratic primary, including Congressman Roman Pucinski, State Senator Harold Washington, and former cook county state's attorney Edward Hanrahan. Block easily defeated three opponents in the Republican primary.

  1. ^ Denvir, Daniel (May 22, 2015). "Voter Turnout in U.S. Mayoral Elections Is Pathetic, But It Wasn't Always This Way". Bloomberg.com. City Lab (The Atlantic). Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  2. ^ "Our Campaigns - Chicago Mayor Race - Jun 07, 1977". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  3. ^ "Bilandic winner with 77% of vote (June 8, 1977)".