Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her bid for a second term Tuesday, failing to make a top-two runoff in the latest demonstration of growing concerns about crime in one of the nation’s largest cities.
Paul Vallas, a long-time public schools chief who ran on a tough-on-crime message, and Brandon Johnson, a Cook County commissioner backed by progressives and the Chicago Teachers Union, will advance to the April runoff, CNN projects.
Tuesday’s municipal election marked the first time in 40 years that Chicago has ditched its mayor. Lightfoot could not overcome years of fights with the police and teachers’ unions, a spike in violent crime during her administration and Chicago’s slow recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lightfoot conceded Tuesday evening, telling supporters that she is now “rooting and praying for the next mayor of Chicago.”
Vallas built his campaign around a pro-police, tough-on-crime message – one he highlighted in celebratory remarks after Lightfoot had called Vallas and Johnson to concede.
“We will have a safe Chicago. We will make Chicago the safest city in America,” Vallas said.
The big question over the next five weeks is whether Vallas’ more conservative message will attract enough support to win in a city where nearly 83% of votes in the 2020 presidential race went to the Democratic ticket.
Johnson, in his speech Tuesday night, showed the first signs that he will seek to consolidate liberals who supported other candidates in the nine-person field. He cited each candidate by name.
“If you voted for one of those other candidates, I want you to know that I’m running to be the mayor of you, too,” Johnson said.
Because no candidate is on course to top 50% in Tuesday’s election, the top two of the nine candidates…
Read the full article here