Daley Wins Chicago Mayoral Primary
CHICAGO
CHICAGO Mayor Richard Daley soundly defeated two opponents Tuesday to win the Democratic mayoral primary and the right to seek a second term as head of the nation's third largest city. ``I do not take today's results as an affirmation of one's person,'' Mr. Daley told supporters. ``It's more of a vote of confidence in the direction of this city. It's a vote of confidence for the politics of cooperation, not confrontation.''
With two-thirds of the votes counted Daley had 67 percent compared to 27 percent for Danny Davis, a black county government officer. Former Mayor Jane Byrne, trying for a political comeback, snared only about 5 percent.
City election officials said less than 48 percent of 1.4 million registered voters participated in the contest which was pushed into the shadows by the Gulf war.
Based on the number of registered voters compared to the population, they said, it may have been the lowest turnout in more than half a century.
Analysts also said Daley did better than expected among black voters, capturing double-digit support.
He and his family were so confident of the results when the polls closed that they spent much of the night in their hotel suite watching not the election returns but war news.
The win put Daley in a strong and probably unbeatable position to capture a second term as mayor of the city his late father and namesake ran from City Hall for 26 years until his death in 1976.
Daley will face a Republican opponent in the April election, and probably an independent black candidate. But the city is overwhelmingly Democratic and winning the primary has been a traditional ticket to victory.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, Republican newcomer and developer Fife Symington Tuesday won the governorship in a close runoff election over former Phoenix Mayor Terry Goddard.
A campaign spokesman attributed Mr. Symington's victory to the preponderance of conservative and Republican voters in retirement communities in greater Phoenix and Maricopa County.