Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson files for reelection amid political challenges
CHICAGO – The petitions are filed, and now Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s reelection bid is official.
But getting on the ballot is the easy part, as a crowded field and sharp political headwinds blow against him.
Johnson faces political, fundraising challenges
What we know:
His labor coalition has fractured with the loss of support from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). A recent NORC poll has his approval rating at just 22%.
The poll also found that 53% of Chicago voters disapprove of Johnson’s job performance, while 25% were undecided or had no opinion.
Among likely voters, 59% expressed enthusiasm for Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias as a potential candidate, compared with 32% for Johnson.
And Johnson is trailing in the money race by a significant margin, with a cash balance of just $379,471. His biggest challenger, Giannoulias, has approximately $19 million.
Yet his team believes millions of dollars in investments, lower crime and keeping his campaign promises will convince voters to let him keep the job.
Johnson submits 33,000 signatures
Dig deeper:
Johnson wheeled in 33,000 signatures to the Chicago Board of Elections headquarters.
It was down to the wire to collect them, with 2,500 volunteers hitting the streets.
Candidates need only 12,500 valid signatures to make the ballot, but many strive for well over that number to account for potential challenges to signature authenticity.
The petition filing period opened Monday, Oct. 19, with 16 candidates already declared in the mayoral race at that time.
His reelection message? “Cranes are up and crime is down.”
What’s next in the mayoral race?
What’s next:
The filing deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26. Petition challenges begin the next day.
Johnson says he won’t be challenging anyone else’s petitions.
The election is Feb. 23, 2027.
The Source: The information in this report came from FOX 32 Chicago’s reporting, the Chicago Board of Elections, campaign finance records and polling conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago.
