Rahm Emanuel heads to runoff in Chicago
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) is headed to a runoff despite outspending his opponents and muscling out his strongest opposition, the Associated Press projected Tuesday.
{mosads}With roughly 84 percent of precincts reporting, the President Obama’s former chief of staff was hovering at 45.5 percent of the vote. His closest challenger, Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, had 33.9 percent.
Emanuel and Garcia will now campaign for another 6 weeks as they head toward the runoff vote in April.
It is the first time since the 1990s that Chicago has had a mayoral runoff, WBEZ reported.
“This is the first step in a real important journey for our city,” Emanuel told supporters shortly after the AP called the race. “To those who voted for me in this election, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. To those who voted for someone else, I hope to earn your confidence and your support in the weeks to come.”
Emanuel has faced criticism for his handling of school closings and crime during his first term, both issues that affected minority Chicagoans in particular.
His opponents have looked to paint him as a mayor who takes care of Chicago’s wealthiest but is bad for its poor and working-class residents.
The runoff marks a difficult turn for the mayor, who ran an aggressive and careful campaign to fend off challenges from within his party.
He and his allies raised tens of millions of dollars and spent them on ads targeting minority voters who have been skeptical of his mayoralty.
He also rolled out a series of endorsements from national figures, including the president, in the hopes that it would build the impression that his victory was inevitable. Last week, the president visited Chicago to designate a historic site as a national monument and make an unannounced appearance at an Emanuel campaign office.
He also avoided facing two of his strongest possible challengers, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis.
Garcia relied heavily on an organizing apparatus brought to the table by the teachers union and his years doing community work in the city.
{mossecondads}The runoff will allow him to retrench and possibly pick up endorsements from the three other candidates who ran against Emanuel with less success.
Emanuel, on the other hand, will have to marshall his resources to ensure his shot at a second term. He may be spread especially thin if he has to financially support the campaigns of some of his political allies on the city council who are also headed to a runoff.
Ilya Sheyman, executive director of liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org Political Action, celebrated Emmanuel’s being forced into a runoff.
“Tonight’s results are a huge win for progressives and working families across Chicago,” Sheyman said in a statement. “Rahm Emanuel’s millions of dollars weren’t enough to whitewash his record of siding with big-money corporate interests over regular people.”
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