1979 Chicago mayoral election

1979 Chicago mayoral election

← 1977 (special) April 3, 1979 1983 →
Turnout	61%[1] 21 pp
Nominee Jane Byrne Wallace D. Johnson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 700,874 137,664 Percentage 82.1% 16.1%
Mayor before election Michael A. Bilandic Democratic Elected Mayor Jane Byrne Democratic

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The 1979 Chicago mayoral election was first the primary on February 27, 1979, which was followed by the general on April 3, 1979. The election saw the election of Chicago, Illinois' first female mayor, and the first female mayor of any major American city, Jane M. Byrne. Byrne defeated Republican Wallace Johnson by a landslide 66 percent margin of victory, winning more than 82 percent of the vote.^[2] Byrne's 82% of the vote is the most any candidate has received in a Chicago mayoral election.

Byrne had won the Democratic Party's nomination by narrowly defeating incumbent mayor Michael A. Bilandic in the party's primary election.