With Chicago’s mayoral election just days away, candidates focus on turning out their bases, and making the runoff cutoff
CHICAGO — With days to go before Chicago’s mayoral election — and a virtual certainty that no one will win the seat outright — candidates are focused on turning out their political bases to secure a spot in the April 4 runoff.
At least five of the nine candidates are seriously vying for the top two spots in Tuesday’s mayor’s race, while others hope to shock the political establishment by breaking through the field, so crowded that it’s highly unlikely anyone will get more than half the vote needed to avoid a runoff.
Early voter turnout, meanwhile, has far surpassed both the 2019 and 2015 municipal elections. More than 178,000 mail-in and in-person ballots had been cast as of Friday. That’s more than double the ballots cast at this time in the 2019 and 2015 cycles.
As Chicago enters the final days of voting in the election’s first round, candidates have spent millions on TV ads trashing their opponents and building themselves up — but voter turnout will decide who wins. Although five candidates have raised more than $2 million for their campaigns, none has been able to build an overwhelming financial advantage like the one Mayor Rahm Emanuel stockpiled in 2015 to secure a second term.
Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas enters the weekend in a strong position; turnout has been particularly high in areas where he’s expected to do well, including conservative Northwest and Southwest side wards drawn to his law-and-order platform.
Vallas has also tried to appeal to white voters
