Chicago mayoral race: Brandon Johnson defeats Paul Vallas in runoff election

Brandon Johnson has emerged as the victor in the highly contentious 2023 Chicago mayoral runoff election, defeating Paul Vallas and succeeding incumbent Lori Lightfoot. The outcome represents a win for Democratic supporters in the city.

Johnson’s victory means that he will become the fourth black mayor of Chicago, following in the footsteps of Harold Washington, who held the position from 1983 to 1987, Eugene Sawyer, who served from 1987 to 1989, and Lightfoot, who became the city’s first black female mayor in 2019.

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With 99% of precincts reporting, Johnson won 51.42% of the vote, defeating Vallas’ 48.58%. In total, there were over 555,000 ballots cast on election day.

Johnson’s campaign was centered around a more progressive platform than Vallas’, focused on improving communities by reforming mental health services, affordable housing, and education, as well as promoting detectives to combat the rising crime rates in the city. He received endorsements from national lawmakers, including Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), as well as the Chicago Teachers Union, which donated millions to his campaign. Johnson defied the odds after several pre-election polls predicted that Vallas would win by a slight, but steady margin.

Johnson’s victory is expected to steer the Democratic-controlled city in a more progressive direction than in previous years. A Vallas win would have likely led to stricter policing methods and a more fiscal approach to the city’s education rates, which have declined in recent years.

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However, Johnson will now be tasked with the difficult challenge of working together with police officers and police unions, which overwhelmingly supported Vallas and criticized Johnson’s criminal justice system reform approaches.

The runoff election saw high early voting numbers, with 292,591 ballots cast by Chicago voters in the lead up to election day through early voting and mail-in ballots.