Polls have closed in Chicago and incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her reelection bid on Tuesday. Lightfoot was among a field of eight candidates hoping to lead the beleaguered Windy City. At the time of this writing, Paul Vallas—a former head of schools in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New Orleans—leads the pack with 34.6% of the vote (see below for the current tally). Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson is in second, with 20.23%, and Lori Lightfoot is in third, with 16.58%.
Decision Desk HQ has called the top two slots for Vallas and Johnson. If no candidate reaches the 50% threshold, which appears to be the case in this election, the top two will advance to a runoff election on April 4.
Lightfoot conceded to the top two candidates late Tuesday night. The Chicago Tribune described her as “shaken” when she said, “Obviously, we didn’t win the election today, but I stand here with my head held high and a heart full of gratitude.” She bragged about making “real progress on public safety,” a laughable claim considering the reign of terror she’s allowed criminals to have in her city. Lightfoot added that she is “rooting and praying for our next mayor to deliver for the people of the city for years to come.” They’re going to need it.
Valles claimed victory, saying, “I want to thank the voters of Chicago for making this campaign about the issues, and nothing but the issues.”
There is a slight—very slight—chance that Lightfoot could pull out a win—once all the mail-in ballots come in and are tallied. Those postmarked by Feb. 28 and received at the Board of Elections by March 14 will be counted. She would need to make up an 18,000-vote deficit, which is very unlikely. Then again, this is Chicago, the city that practically invented voter fraud, so never say never.
Related: Chicago’s Mayoral Election on Tuesday May Be a Harbinger of the Future for Other Big Cities
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