Gov. J.B. Pritzker | Photo Courtesy of Gov. J.B. Pritzker Facebook
Gov. J.B. Pritzker | Photo Courtesy of Gov. J.B. Pritzker Facebook
Former Chicago Public Schools chief Paul Vallas and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson are the two finalists who will be facing off in the upcoming mayoral race.
The two candidates emerged from a field of nine that included incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who was seeking her second term but had recently seen her popularity decline. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said that he has not decided on whether to endorse anyone for mayor, saying at a press conference on March 1 that it was too early to say.
“I'll be listening and watching," Pritzker said at the press conference. “Primaries are messy, and they don't usually illustrate the candidates' positions on the issues all that well. And so, I think it'll be important for the candidates that made it through that primary process, and now in the runoff, to articulate their positions and the contrast between their views.”
Pritzker is both a Democrat and a Chicago voter, but not considered close to either candidate politically, according to the Chicago Business report. Vallas was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2016, however.
Pritzker said that important aspects of this race include what each candidate will do about education, healthcare, public safety and creating jobs.
“Those are all important things that I don't think have been fully fleshed out by either one of those candidates."
According to the New York Times, Vallas received 33.7% of the vote with 173,630 votes. Johnson had 104,306 votes or 20.3% while Lightfoot only received 17.1% and 87,935 votes. Jesus Garcia received 13.7% of the vote, or 70,600 votes.
Since no candidate received a majority vote, a runoff election will take place on April 4.
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