Commentary: It has been decades since a sitting mayor lost a reelection campaign. But if you believe the polls, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is in peril of not making the runoff.
Erik Pearson drops off his mail-in ballot at a drop box at the Chicago Board of Elections Loop Super Site on Feb. 15, 2023.
Well over 200,000 voters have requested mail-in ballots, which must be postmarked by Election Day, according to the Chicago Board of Elections. Beyond the ballots counted by Election Day, many more will be waiting in the wings.“It could take, two, three, four days to really get a sense of how many vote-by-mail ballots that we’ve got and when we know that they’ll be counted,” Chicago Board of Elections spokesman Max Bever told ABC-7 Chicago last week.
As the race kicked off last year, some counted Johnson out as a political unknown. He has overperformed, raised a ton of cash and has been agile and charismatic on the campaign trail. The Chicago Teachers Union and many other progressive organizations have backed him over García, their previous favorite. The CTU poured more than $1 million into Johnson’s campaign. Count him out at your peril.
Gone now is Lightfoot’s “bring in the light” campaign mantra that won her all 50 city wards in the runoff. Lightfoot ran an anti-corruption campaign and pledged to curb the corruption-breeding practice of aldermanic privilege. She took on the enemy from Day 1 at her inauguration. Back then, government reform and political corruption were front and center for voters. Now it is crime and public safety, all day long.As we close out this first round, Chicago can’t escape the issue of race, once again. Lightfoot was attacked for appealing to Black voters for support, and saying that if they didn’t support her, they should just “stay home.” Vallas was accused of deploying a racist “dog whistle” by declaring the campaign “is about taking back our city.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lori Lightfoot Makes Her Case to ChicagoThe mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot’s time in office has been marked by crises, not all of them within her control. What does this mean for Tuesday’s election?
Read more »
Lori Lightfoot slammed for suggesting voters oppose her because she's a Black woman in power: Her 'time is up'Chicago radio host Ray Stevens criticized Mayor Lori Lightfoot for the city's high crime rate after she blamed slipping support on her identity as a Black woman.
Read more »
New poll shows Vallas leading Chicago mayoral race with 24%, Lightfoot at 18%If a hypothetical April 4th runoff election were held now, the poll found Vallas leading Lightfoot 49.5% to 30%. Vallas would lead Garcia, 43% to 38%. Against Johnson, Vallas would lead 44% to 31%.
Read more »
New poll shows who might win Chicago mayoral runoff: Vallas, Lightfoot, Garcia or Johnson?If a hypothetical April 4th runoff election were held now, the poll found Vallas leading Lightfoot 49.5% to 30%. Vallas would lead Garcia, 43% to 38%. Against Johnson, Vallas would lead 44% to 31%.
Read more »