Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced his intention to run for reelection despite low approval ratings and scandals.
While most eyes are on the November midterm elections, the Chicago mayoral election will be held in February, which will proceed to a runoff election in April if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote. Speculation had been rife about whether Johnson would choose to run again, particularly given his poor approval ratings. He dispelled this speculation on Sunday, announcing his run for a second term after an upset victory three and a half years ago.
“The vision that we have put together to build the safest, most affordable big city in America is one that not only are we realizing, we’re just getting started,” he began in his video announcing the move.
Johnson boasted of his work on affordability and housing, and showcased endorsements based on his progressive credentials.
In a sign of the times, one of the first major policies he highlighted was his moratorium on the construction of new data centers.
“Not only did we stand up to Donald Trump, but we set the standard for the rest of the country, and as long as I’m mayor of the city of Chicago, we will never submit to authoritarianism,” Johnson said in the video.
Despite the confidence in his announcement, he faces a steep uphill battle. A July poll from the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation at the University of Chicago placed his approval rating at 23%, while an even lower 14% believed he should run again.
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The biggest blows to Johnson’s mayorship have been his alienation of other officials and abysmal finances of the city, made worse by the Trump administration’s stripping of federal aid. Chicago’s credit rating was downgraded by two ratings agencies earlier this year over budget shortfalls.
The most visible resistance to Johnson’s policies has been the Chicago City Council, some members of which have tried to block his controversial initiatives using all levers at their disposal.