1980 Cook County State's Attorney election
In the 1980 Cook County State's Attorney election, incumbent second-term state's attorney Bernard Carey, a Republican, was unseated by Democrat Richard M. Daley. Election information The election was part of the 1980 Cook County, Illinois elections. 1980 was a presidential election year in the United States. The primaries and general elections for Cook County races coincided with those for federal races (President, Senate, and House) and those for state elections. Democratic primary Candidates The following candidates ran for the Democratic Party nomination for State's Attorney: Endorsements Campaign Daley ran as an "independent" Democrat, rather than pursuing the support of the local political machine. Daley's campaign was managed by his brother William M. Daley. Burke aligned himself with Chicago mayor Jane Byrne, and was endorsed by the Cook County Democratic Central Committee. Burke ran at Byrne's urging, as she wanted to prevent Daley from becoming State's Attorney, since she saw him as a likely mayoral challenger in 1983. Burke's loss to Daley was seen at the time as a setback for Chicago's political machine. This was also seen as a bad sign for Byrne, as the prospect of Daley being elevated to Cook County State's Attorney was problematic to her reelection