Three-way street: Lori Lightfoot faces tough opposition in Chicago mayoral race
Rachel Schilke
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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) is in for a tough reelection in February, with polls showing she is slightly trailing behind two opponents: Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-IL) and Paul Vallas, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
A recent poll from the Chicago Sun-Times, Telemundo Chicago, NBC5 Chicago, and WBEZ Public Radio shows that 20% of voters would support Garcia, 18% for Vallas, and 17% for Lightfoot.
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Lightfoot has not held back in criticizing her opponents, blasting Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, a mayoral candidate, for trying to “mansplain up here” when she was debating back and forth with Vallas on the retention of officers associated with hate groups during an hourlong forum on Tuesday night.
“Don’t try and treat me like I’m some child, trying to tell me to quiet down,” Lightfoot said, per NBC Chicago.
Line, bar and pie charts by Flourish team
The recent numbers reflect voters’ view of Lightfoot’s performance as mayor. She recently came under fire for dancing in the streets during a Lunar New Year parade. Her term has been the subject of severe scrutiny amid rising crime rates and controversies within her campaign.
“It’s time to vote! Thanks to the Kaotic Drumline for kicking off the party this morning,” Lightfoot tweeted. “One month until Election Day, Chicago! Let’s do this thing.”
Chicago’s mayoral race, which is 20 days away, comes as Chicago recorded more than 6,000 reports of crimes during the first four weeks of January, a 59% increase compared to the same time frame last year, according to data from the Chicago Police Department. The city also reported a 4% increase in crime in 2022 compared to 2021.
In the recent poll, 71% of voters believe that Chicago is on the wrong track, and 61% disapproved of Lightfoot’s job, giving her a high unfavorability rating of 54%.
The Chicago race is likely to go to a runoff on April 4, as neither candidate looks like they will receive the required 50% of the vote at this point.
Lightfoot came under an ethics complaint from Parents Defending Education in January after her campaign staffer reached out to Chicago Public Schools teachers to ask their students to volunteer for Lightfoot’s campaign in exchange for school credit. The emails soliciting volunteers were sent to colleges, universities, and schools, but the Chicago Teachers Union deemed them unethical.
The Chicago mayor said she had no idea the emails were being sent to Chicago Public Schools and that her team immediately put a stop to it.
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“Bottom line here is it was clearly a mistake,” Lightfoot said back in January. “And we’ve made sure that we emphasized that, not only to the staff involved but everybody on our campaign, to ensure that this kind of conduct doesn’t happen again.”
The poll was conducted between Jan. 31 and Feb. 3 with a group of 625 voters.