After, in the previous election, having been routed by his Republican opponent among the white electorate, and only winning reelection due to his overwhelming support by black voters, Daley had adopted more conservative stances on race and other issues.

[3] Among his efforts to appeal to the "white backlash" voters that had abandoned him in 1963, he came out more strongly in opposition to "open housing" and equal rights for blacks.

[3] The plan made clear Daley's intentions to protect white voters from the encroachment of African Americans.

[4] After a charismatic and young bank executive declined the nomination, they turned to 23rd Ward Republican Committeeman John L. Waner, who was a wealthy air conditioning contractor.

[4] However, Republicans believed that Waner was a fresh-face who might be able to appeal to the city's large Polish electorate, and who was wealthy enough to be able to contribute finances towards his campaign.

[6] Daley attempted to appeal to both white and black voters on the issue of civil rights, leading to him often speaking empty platitudes when addressing the topic.

[3] An issue Waner hoped to use against Daley was the fire that destroyed the McCormick Convention Center, built just a few years earlier at the cost of $35 million.

[3][7] However, the fact that the Chicago Tribune had campaigned vigorously for its construction earlier and was a prominent force in the Illinois Republican Party, prevented Waner from monopolising off of the incident.

[3] Waner commented on urban renewal, "Since 960 the city has displaced over 50,000 people, and after new buildings went up, no one could afford to move back into the new neighborhood.

[3] Daley hit back, accusing King of making "political" statements aimed at harming his reelection prospects, and pledged that he would not allow civil rights marchers to disrupt the city.

[4] Dick Gregory received a record-breaking number of write-in votes for a candidate in a Chicago mayoral election.