Editing Carter Harrison III (section)

==U.S. House of Representatives (1875–1879)==
Harrison represented [[Illinois's 2nd congressional district]] for two terms (from 1875 until 1879).<ref name="retrobio"/> During the relevant period, with exception of the [[6th ward, Chicago|6th ward]], the district represented all of Chicago's "West Division" wards<ref name="secondcongressionalitspoliticalstatus"/> (the [[7th ward, Chicago|7th]], [[8th ward, Chicago|8th]], [[9th ward, Chicago|9th]], [[10th ward, Chicago|10th]], [[11th ward, Chicago|11th]], 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th wards).<ref name="Glorious1"/> During his time in congress, Harrison was noted for his flamboyant oration.<ref name="themayors"/>

===Unsuccessful 1872 campaign===
Early into his tenure on the county board, Harrison ran an unsuccessful campaign in [[1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois|1872]] as the Democratic nominee in Illinois's 2nd congressional district for election to the [[43rd United States Congress]].<ref name="retrobio">{{cite web |title=Harrison, Carter Henry (1825-1893) |url=https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=H000267 |department=bioguideretro.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Director of the United States Congress |access-date=October 29, 2020}}</ref><ref name="National Array"/> Harrison faced Republican nominee [[Jasper D. Ward]].<ref name="National Array">{{cite web |title=Nov. 5, 1872. A National Array of Candidates for the National Election |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371927756 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=4 February 2025 |language=en |date=November 4, 1872}}</ref> The district had a strong Republican lean. Harrison, while unsuccessful, managed to greatly outperform previous Democratic nominees in the district.<ref name="retrobio"/> Harrison won 42.14% of the vote to Ward's 57.86%.<ref name="secondcongressionalitspoliticalstatus"/> Harrison led his opponent in the 8th and 9th wards, but trailed him in the other wards.<ref name="Glorious1">{{cite web |title=The Glorious Result |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/667951909 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=Chicago Evening Post |access-date=4 February 2025 |language=en |date=November 6, 1872}}</ref>

The congressional election coincided with the [[1872 United States presidential election]]. Harrison (the Democratic congressional nominee) was listed on a local ticket that also included [[Liberal Republican Party (United States)|Liberal Republican Party]] presidential nominee [[Horace Greeley]].<ref name="secondcongressionalitspoliticalstatus"/>

===First term (1875–1877)===
Due to his strong performance in his 1872 congressional campaign, in 1874 Harrison was again nominated in the 2nd congressional district by the Democratic Party for congress,<ref name="retrobio"/> and in a re-match against Ward won election [[44th United States Congress]] by a margin of only eight votes.<ref name="secondcongressionalitspoliticalstatus"/> The ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' would blame local Republicans' alignment with the Citizens Union ticket in the [[1873 Chicago mayoral election|1873]] local Chicago elections as detrimental to Ward's re-election, as in the eyes of many voters it had placed Republicans on the less popular side of the "beer question" (positioning them in support of enforcing Sunday temperance [[blue laws]] (laws banning the sale of alcohol on Sundays). Many voters who typically voted Republican had in 1873 voted for the People's Party instead of the Citizens Union ticket due to the "beer question"<ref name="secondcongressionalitspoliticalstatus"/> At the time he was elected, he had been out-of-country visiting Europe with his family (traveling to Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and the [[Tyrol]]). After learning of his election, he returned to the United States to take office.<ref name="manofthepeople"/>

In 1875, during his first term in Congress, Harrison and his family again traveled to Europe. After accompanying his family through Northern Europe, Harrison returned to the United States while the rest of his family continued their trip. However, Harrison traveled to Europe again after his first wife died there.<ref name="manofthepeople"/>

===Second term (1877–1879)===
While he was out-of-country due to the death of his wife, he was re-elected [[1876 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois|in 1876]] to the [[45th United States Congress]].<ref name="manofthepeople"/> He won 50.89% of the vote against Republican opponent [[George R. Davis (Illinois politician)|George R. Davis]].<ref name="1876result"/>

Scandal occurred in his second term in congress when, as chairman of the Committee on Reform of the Civil Service, Harrison had pushed through the payment of benefits to four self-proclaimed Union Army veterans purporting disabilities from wartime injuries despite the fact that their claims had previously been rejected. None of these individuals had actually seen active service, and none of them had suffered serious injuries.<ref name="gambler"/> 

[[1878 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois|in 1878]], Harrison lost re-election to congress.<ref name="gambler">{{cite book |last1=Lindberg |first1=Richard C. |title=The Gambler King of Clark Street: Michael C. McDonald and the Rise of Chicago's Democratic Machine |date=2009 |publisher=SIU Press |isbn=978-0-8093-8654-3 |pages=101–102, 140–141, 210|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=IUgbMFn6nCYC |access-date=May 19, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> He was defeated by [[Miles Kehoe]] for re-nomination at the district's Democratic nominating convention.<ref name="MilesKehoeGetsIt"/>