Johnson to face Vallas in Chicago mayoral runoff

Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson is projected to advance in Chicago’s mayoral race, pitting him against former Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Paul Vallas, according to The Associated Press.

The Cook County commissioner needed to be among the top two candidates with the most votes in order to advance to the Chicago mayoral runoff given the unlikeliness that any one candidate would outright win at least half of the vote on Tuesday. 

The race also marks a stunning fall for Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D), who was running for reelection but failed to advance to the final round.

Despite being an incumbent, Lightfoot was largely seen as an underdog. Recent polling either placing her in a statistical tie with or trailing one of the following candidates: former Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Paul Vallas, Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), and Johnson. 

Johnson has sought to position himself as the progressive candidate in the race, accusing fellow mayoral candidate García as being “a staunch ally of Lori Lightfoot.” The Cook County commissioner, who has the backing of the powerful Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), however, has had to tread a fine line over a previous position of supporting defunding the police. 

The Cook County commissioner was targeted over his support for defunding the police in one of Lightfoot’s ads. In an interview with The Hill last week, he would not say whether he would remove funding from the Chicago Police Department, only saying he would be “investing in what works.”

Vallas, meanwhile, last ran for mayor in 2019, though he was unable to make it into the runoff that year, which saw Lightfoot elected.

He leaned into tough-on-crime messaging during the race in an election where public safety was ranked in some polling as a top issue among voters. He’s also backed by the Fraternal Order of Police.

In a sign of the competitive nature of the race, Lightfoot and other candidates targeted Vallas, casting him as a Republican. The Chicago mayor has also targeted him over his position on abortion. Vallas has dismissed the attacks, saying he’s a “lifelong pro-choice Democrat.”

The Chicago mayoral runoff is set for April 4.