Election Day is tomorrow in Chicago and the political junkies are watching to see if Mayor Rahm Emanuel can avoid a run-off by winning more than 50 percent of the vote.
Mayor Emanuel is a one-time political operative himself and he knows it will be a particularly cold day in Chicago if he is forced to face a run-off election, where the incumbent’s overwhelming advantage in fundraising will have less of an impact if a potential challenger can face the Mayor one-on-one.
Emanuel and his allies have already collected a staggering $30 million in the race to control the nation’s third largest city, according to the Chicago Sun Times. Now they are closing the long primary campaign with this standard “vision” spot –unremarkable but for the fact that President Barack Obama lends his voice in support of Emanuel, who served as the President’s former Chief of Staff.
Mayor Emanuel is a one-time political operative himself and he knows it will be a particularly cold day in Chicago if he is forced to face a run-off election, where the incumbent’s overwhelming advantage in fundraising will have less of an impact if a potential challenger can face the Mayor one-on-one.
Emanuel and his allies have already collected a staggering $30 million in the race to control the nation’s third largest city, according to the Chicago Sun Times. Now they are closing the long primary campaign with this standard “vision” spot –unremarkable but for the fact that President Barack Obama lends his voice in support of Emanuel, who served as the President’s former Chief of Staff.
Is “Chuy” Garcia Emerging from the Pack of Challengers?
Cook County Commission Jesus “Chuy” Garcia has been trying to separate himself from the pack of mayoral challengers with an economic populist message similar to progressive platform that swept Bill de Blasio into the mayor’s office in New York in 2013. Garcia can’t match Emanuel in fundraising but he can try to make the mayor pay a price for raising all that “special interest” money. The Emanuel forces take Garcia seriously enough to launch a counter attack from one of their “Super PACs.” We’ll see after the polls close tomorrow if Garcia’s populist gambit was enough to overcome the hefty Emanuel campaign war chest.To Our Chicago Readers – Don’t Forget to Vote
The polls are open in Chicago from 6:00 in the morning until 7:00 in the evening. You can find your polling place here.