{"id":556934,"date":"2023-02-26T22:44:36","date_gmt":"2023-02-26T19:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/lightfoot-takes-on-underdog-role-again-in-chicago-mayors-race\/"},"modified":"2023-02-26T22:44:36","modified_gmt":"2023-02-26T19:44:36","slug":"lightfoot-takes-on-underdog-role-again-in-chicago-mayors-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/lightfoot-takes-on-underdog-role-again-in-chicago-mayors-race\/","title":{"rendered":"#Lightfoot takes on underdog role again in Chicago mayor\u2019s race"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40c9fc4e68c\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40c9fc4e68c\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/lightfoot-takes-on-underdog-role-again-in-chicago-mayors-race\/#Lightfoot_takes_on_underdog_role_again_in_Chicago_mayors_race\" >Lightfoot takes on underdog role again in Chicago mayor\u2019s race<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Lightfoot_takes_on_underdog_role_again_in_Chicago_mayors_race\"><\/span>Lightfoot takes on underdog role again in Chicago mayor\u2019s race<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/LightfootLori_011423_AP_Erin-Hooley.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Lori Lightfoot, who defied expectations four years ago to win the Chicago mayoral race as a political outsider, finds herself once again the underdog as she seeks to fend off multiple challengers in a tough reelection bid.<\/p>\n<p>The city\u2019s top executive is facing a crowded field of eight other candidates. Though Lightfoot campaigned as a reformer in 2019, voters are signaling they might be ready for another fresh start, and she finds herself trailing some of her rivals in recent polls.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Should she fail to become one of the top two vote-getters in Tuesday\u2019s primary, she could become the first incumbent Chicago mayor in more than three decades to lose an election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s an underdog this time around for different reasons than she was an underdog last time,\u201d said longtime political operative Victor Reyes, who is supporting challenger Rep. Jes\u00fas \u201cChuy\u201d Garc\u00eda (D-Ill.) but not advising him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast time, she was an unknown and she was the counter to the traditional political establishment folks, and the vote split was h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ening in a different way back then. And this time, she\u2019s like the target of everybody\u2019s ire, right?\u201d Reyes continued. \u201cShe\u2019s getting attacked from the left; she\u2019s getting attacked from the right. And she doesn\u2019t have any ground footing with any significant solid base of votes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Multiple polls over the past month have shown Lightfoot either tied with or trailing a mix of the other three frontrunners: Garc\u00eda; former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas; and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson. Still, Lightfoot is no stranger to being counted out. During the 2019 Chicago mayoral race, she <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/2019\/1\/25\/18319751\/poll-jam-preckwinkle-daley-inch-ahead-as-all-14-struggle-to-crack-13-percent\">polled as low as in the single digits<\/a>\u00a0ahead of that year\u2019s February primary and surprised many when she made it into the runoff that year along with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But the reformer candidate who broke barriers as the first Black woman and first openly gay candidate to be elected as Chicago\u2019s mayor is facing a steep path to reelection as she battles perceptions that she\u2019s too combative along with concerns over crime and public safety.<\/p>\n<p>Lightfoot\u2019s campaign argues she has the support be reelected.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cUnder Mayor Lightfoot\u2019s leadership, Chicago has made progress like this city has never seen before,\u201d Lightfoot campaign spokeswoman Hannah Goss said in a statement. \u201cIn just four years, she has spurred economic development in every corner of the city \u2014 not just downtown. The Mayor has secured record investments in affordable housing, expanded access to mental health services, raised the minimum wage to $15, made key reforms to our police department \u2014 and more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Twyla Blackmond Larnell, an assistant professor of political <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> at Loyola University Chicago, argued that identity politics are playing a significant role in the race, and that while Lightfoot has courted Black and white voters in the past, it\u2019s not clear if she has their support.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd so my question has always been who\u2019s going to turn out to vote for [Lightfoot] in this election, at least \u2026 vote for her enough to get her to the runoff?\u201d Larnell said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Lightfoot appeared to nod toward that question while speaking to voters last weekend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny vote coming out of the South Side for somebody not named Lightfoot is a vote for Chuy Garc\u00eda or Paul Vallas,\u201d she said,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcchicago.com\/chicago-mayoral-election-2023\/lightfoot-blasted-on-voting-comments-as-vallas-faces-criticism-amid-desantis-visit-to-area\/3077211\/\">according to footage from NBC5 Chicago.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She later walked back those statements following criticism for the remarks. \u201cIf I said anything other than everybody everywhere needs to vote then I misspoke in the heat of a campaign rally,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>At the same time, Vallas, Garc\u00eda and Johnson are not without their own challenges ahead of next Tuesday. Lightfoot, for example, has sought to portray Vallas as a Republican \u2014 an insult in the heavily blue city of Chicago \u2014 and has pointed to his endorsement from the Fraternal Order of Police. <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> coverage has also reported on Vallas\u2019s donors, some of whom have given to Republicans in the past.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for Vallas\u2019s campaign suggested those attacks \u201cshow a little bit of desperation\u201d and noted that \u201cthe facts of it are pretty straightforward: He\u2019s a lifelong Democrat, he\u2019s run for public office multiple times, even statewide office, as a Democrat. He is completely pro-choice and has publicly said that he would make sure that Chicago remains a reproductive safe haven.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Lightfoot has sought to tie Garc\u00eda to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and disgraced former state House Speaker Mike Madigan (D) in one of her earlier ads.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/politics\/elections\/ct-bankman-fried-chicago-chuy-garcia-20221223-2lgcurpoi5cgvixk2vnzhmfwcm-story.html\">The Chicago Tribune noted that<\/a>\u00a0Bankman-Fried donated $2,900 to the congressman\u2019s campaign while more than $150,000 was spent by a political action committee with ties to the FTX founder to support Garc\u00eda\u2019s reelection efforts. More recently, the Tribune reported that an unidentified member of Congress referenced in court documents related to a probe involving Madigan is Garc\u00eda himself.<\/p>\n<p>Garc\u00eda\u2019s campaign has said that the congressman donated the direct contribution from Bankman-Fried, and the congressman has publicly said he was not involved with the independent expenditure that was made outside his campaign. The campaign also told the Tribune that he is not involved in the Madigan probe or any other related probe. No wrongdoing has been alleged against him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Lori Lightfoot has no accomplishments of her own to tout, she has resorted to phony, desperate attacks on the Congressman to distract from the fact she has failed to keep Chicagoans safe and has failed to reform city government as she once promised,\u201d Garc\u00eda campaign spokesperson Antoine Givens said in a statement to The Hill.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>In a sign that Ligthfoot views Johnson as a possible contender, Lightfoot also released an ad targeting the Cook County commissioner\u2019s previous comments in which he voiced support for defunding the police \u2014 an attack line often used by Republicans against Democrats but less often seen among intraparty disputes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Johnson would not say directly whether he would cut spending from the Chicago Police Department, noting instead he would be \u201cinvesting in what works.\u201d But the Cook County commissioner also accused Lightfoot\u2019s and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel\u2019s administrations of defunding city services and institutions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s not an underdog, she\u2019s a disappointment,\u201d Johnson told The Hill.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThis administration [and] the previous administration have moved on the defunding of all of the critical services that the people of Chicago not only rely upon but deserve,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI am running to become the investor-in-chief.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, observers argue not to count her out.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Dick Simpson, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois Chicago who\u2019s long been a fixture in Chicago politics, explained he was supporting her because \u201cshe did carry out the ethics of good government reforms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd she is a pragmatic progressive who\u2019s carrying out the agenda of issues like Invest South\/West affordable housing, balanced economic development,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/3873408-lightfoot-takes-on-underdog-role-again-in-chicago-mayors-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lightfoot takes on underdog role again in Chicago mayor\u2019s race Lori Lightfoot, who defied expectations four years ago to win the Chicago mayoral race as a political outsider, finds herself once again the underdog as she seeks to fend off multiple challengers in a tough reelection bid. The city\u2019s top executive is facing a crowded&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":556935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/LightfootLori_011423_AP_Erin-Hooley.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,134417,134343,140557,127406,134354,134345,134446],"class_list":["post-556934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-blog-briefing-room","tag-campaign","tag-chicago-mayors-race","tag-lori-lightfoot","tag-nexstar-media-wire-news","tag-state-watch","tag-sunday-talk-shows"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}