Mayoral election in Chicago, Illinois (2023)
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| 2023 Chicago elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: November 28, 2022 |
| General election: February 28, 2023 Runoff election: April 4, 2023 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor |
| Total seats up: 1 (click here for other city elections) |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2023 |
Brandon Johnson defeated Paul Vallas in the runoff election for mayor of Chicago, Illinois, on April 4, 2023. Johnson received 51.4% of the vote and Vallas received 48.6%. They advanced from a field of nine candidates in the February 28 general election. Click here to read more about the general election.
Politico's Shia Kapos and Olivia Olander said in February 2023 that the two runoff candidates "could hardly be more different . . . Vallas, who is white, ran to the right of Lightfoot and has focused primarily on public safety. He won the endorsement of Chicago’s conservative Fraternal Order of Police and faced accusations from his rivals of being a Republican despite declaring himself a Democrat. And although Johnson, a Black progressive with the backing of the Chicago Teachers Union, doesn’t use 'defund the police' rhetoric, he has argued for police resources to be redirected to the city’s social service agencies."[1]
Vallas received 33.7% of the vote in the general election. He was the 2014 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. He worked as chief administrative officer at Chicago State University and was the CEO of Chicago Public Schools. On the night of the general election, Vallas said, "Public safety is the fundamental right of every American. It is a civil right. And it is the principle responsibility of government, and we will have a safe Chicago."[2] The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Vallas.
Johnson received 20.3% of the vote in the general election. He was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners as a Democrat in 2018. He was a teacher with Chicago Public Schools and an organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). In a speech the night of the general election, Johnson thanked the CTU for its support and said, "We get to turn the page of the politics of old . . . Every single child in the city gets to have their needs met."[3] The CTU endorsed Johnson.
Incumbent Lori Lightfoot finished third with 17.1% of the vote. She was elected mayor in 2019, defeating Toni Preckwinkle 74% to 26% in a runoff election after advancing from a 14-candidate general election field. Lightfoot was the first person elected Chicago mayor to lose a re-election bid since 1983 when Jane Byrne lost her primary.[4] Mayor Eugene Sawyer, who lost a 1989 primary to Richard Daley, was appointed mayor rather than elected.
Although elections are officially nonpartisan, candidates are typically affiliated with one of the major political parties. Johnson and Vallas are both Democrats. The last Republican mayor of Chicago, William Thompson, left office in 1931.
Chicago adopted the system of nonpartisan general elections with a potential runoff beginning with the 1999 mayoral elections. In the six elections between 1999 and 2019, a runoff election occurred twice (2015 and 2019). A candidate won the other four general elections outright (1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011).
Election news
This section includes a timeline of events leading up to the election.
Candidates and results
General runoff election
General runoff election for Mayor of Chicago
Brandon Johnson defeated Paul Vallas in the general runoff election for Mayor of Chicago on April 4, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Brandon Johnson (Nonpartisan) | 52.2 | 319,481 | |
| Paul Vallas (Nonpartisan) | 47.8 | 293,033 | ||
| Total votes: 612,514 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
General election for Mayor of Chicago
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Chicago on February 28, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Paul Vallas (Nonpartisan) | 32.9 | 185,743 | |
| ✔ | Brandon Johnson (Nonpartisan) | 21.6 | 122,093 | |
| Lori Lightfoot (Nonpartisan) | 16.8 | 94,890 | ||
| Jesus Garcia (Nonpartisan) | 13.7 | 77,222 | ||
| Willie Wilson (Nonpartisan) | 9.1 | 51,567 | ||
| Ja'Mal Green (Nonpartisan) | 2.2 | 12,257 | ||
| Kambium Buckner (Nonpartisan) | 2.0 | 11,092 | ||
| Sophia King (Nonpartisan) | 1.3 | 7,191 | ||
| Roderick Sawyer (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 2,440 | ||
| Johnny Logalbo (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 15 | ||
| Keith Judge (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 5 | ||
| Stephen Hodge (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 4 | ||
| Ryan Friedman (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 3 | ||
| Stephanie Ann Mustari (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 1 | ||
| Bridgett Palmer (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 1 | ||
| Total votes: 564,524 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Montelle Gaji (Nonpartisan)
- Raymond Lopez (Nonpartisan)
- Frederick Collins (Nonpartisan)
Candidate comparison
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Incumbent: No
Political Office:
Cook County Board of Commissioners District 1 (Assumed office: 2018)
Biography: Johnson received a B.A. and an M.A. from Aurora University. Johnson worked as a teacher with Chicago Public Schools and as an organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union.
Show sources
Sources: Brandon Johnson's 2023 campaign website, "On The Issues," accessed December 7, 2022 ; Fox 23 Chicago, "'I don’t break promises': Brandon Johnson joining crowded race for Chicago mayor," October 27, 2022 ; Chicago Sun-Times, "Lightfoot is out, Vallas and Johnson are in — the April runoff," March 1, 2023; Brandon Johnson's 2023 campaign website, "About," accessed December 7, 2022
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Chicago in 2023.
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Biography: Vallas served as executive director of the Illinois Economic and Fiscal Commission; Chicago city revenue director; and Chicago city budget director. He was CEO of Chicago Public Schools from 1995 to 2001. He served as superintendent of school districts in Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Bridgeport, Conn., from 2002 to 2014. Before running for mayor, he worked as chief administrative officer at Chicago State University.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Chicago in 2023.
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign advertisements
This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.
Brandon Johnson
| April 1, 2023 |
| March 29, 2023 |
| March 20, 2023 |
View more ads here:
Paul Vallas
| March 29, 2023 |
| March 27, 2023 |
| March 27, 2023 |
View more ads here:
Debates and forums
This section includes links to debates, forums, and other similar events where multiple candidates in this race participated. If you are aware of any debates or forums that should be included, please email us.
March 28 debate
Johnson and Vallas participated in a debate hosted by CBS 2. A video of the debate is embedded below:[5]
Click on the links below for summaries of the event:
March 22 debate
Johnson and Vallas participated in a debate hosted by FOX 32. A video of the debate is embedded below:[6]
Click on the links below for summaries of the event:
March 21 debate
Johnson and Vallas participated in a debate hosted by WGN. A video of the debate is embedded below:[7]
Click on the links below for summaries of the event:
March 16 debate
Johnson and Vallas participated in a debate hosted by ABC 7. A video of the debate is embedded below:[8]
Click on the links below for summaries of the event:
March 8 debate
Johnson and Vallas participated in a debate hosted by NBC 5 and Telemundo. The Union League, the Urban League, and Latino Policy partnered with the stations on the event.[9] A video of the debate is embedded below:
Click on the links below for summaries of the event:
Election competitiveness
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
Polls will be posted here as they are made available. Know of something we missed? Click here to let us know.
| Chicago mayoral election, 2023: Runoff election polls | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Date | Johnson | Vallas | Undecided/Other | Margin of error | Sample size[10] | Sponsor[11] |
| Victory Research | March 31-April 2, 2023 | 45% | 50% | 5% | ± 3.3 | 900 LV | N/A |
| Emerson College | March 23-25, 2023 | 40% | 46% | 13% | ± 3.0 | 1,000 LV | WGN-TV / The Hill |
| Victory Research | March 20-23, 2023 | 44% | 46% | 10% | ± 3.5 | 806 LV | N/A |
| BSP Research | March 15-23, 2023 | 44% | 44% | 12% | ± 2.8 | 1,500 RV | Northwestern University |
| IZQ Strategies | March 15-16, 2023 | 46% | 44% | 10% | ± 4.0 | 680 LV | N/A |
| Click [show] to see older poll results | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Date | Johnson | Vallas | Undecided/Other | Margin of error | Sample size[12] | Sponsor[13] |
| Victory Research | March 6-9, 2023 | 39% | 45% | 16% | ± 3.5 | 806 LV | N/A |
| 1983 Labs | March 2-6, 2023 | 32% | 44% | 24% | ± 4.0 | 583 LV | N/A |
Noteworthy endorsements
Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites, if available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.
This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please email us.
Election spending
Campaign finance
Candidates in this election submitted campaign finance reports to the Illinois State Board of Elections. Click here to access those reports. The chart below includes figures through Q1 2023 quarterly reports.
2015
| Mayor of Chicago, Runoff Election, 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
 Rahm Emanuel Incumbent |
56.2% | 332,171 | |
| Jesus "Chuy" Garcia | 43.8% | 258,562 | |
| Total Votes | 590,733 | ||
| Source: Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, "Official runoff election results," accessed July 9, 2015 | |||
| Mayor of Chicago, General Election, 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Rahm Emanuel Incumbent |
45.6% | 218,217 | |
| Jesus "Chuy" Garcia |
33.5% | 160,414 | |
| Willie Wilson | 10.7% | 50,960 | |
| Robert W. "Bob" Fioretti | 7.4% | 35,363 | |
| William "Dock" Walls, III | 2.8% | 13,250 | |
| Total Votes | 478,204 | ||
| Source: Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, "Official general election results," accessed July 9, 2015 | |||
About the city
- See also: Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is a city in Illinois. It is the seat of Cook County and the center of the Chicago Metropolitan Area. As of 2020, its population was 2,746,388.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Chicago uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[20] The mayor and city council each serve four-year terms.
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Chicago, Illinois | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | Illinois | |
| Population | 2,746,388 | 12,812,508 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 227 | 55,512 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 47.7% | 69.8% |
| Black/African American | 29.2% | 14.1% |
| Asian | 6.8% | 5.6% |
| Native American | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% |
| Two or more | 5.3% | 4.2% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 28.6% | 17.2% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 85.9% | 89.7% |
| College graduation rate | 41.1% | 35.5% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $62,097 | $68,428 |
| Persons below poverty level | 17.3% | 12% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
2023 battleground elections
- See also: Battlegrounds
This election was a battleground race. Other 2023 battleground elections included:
- Mayoral election in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 16, 2023 Democratic primary)
- Mississippi Public Service Commission election, 2023 (August 8 Northern District Republican primary)
- Utah's 2nd Congressional District special election, 2023 (September 5 Republican primary)
See also
| Chicago, Illinois | Illinois | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot concedes," February 28, 2023
- ↑ WBEZ, "Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson head to Chicago mayoral runoff," February 28, 2023
- ↑ Chalkbeat Chicago, "Chicago 2023 mayoral election: Former schools chief, teachers union organizer headed to runoff," February 28, 2023
- ↑ NBC News, "Lori Lightfoot becomes the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose re-election," February 28, 2023
- ↑ CBS News, "Chicago Decides: mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas face off at CBS 2 debate," March 28, 2023
- ↑ FOX 32 Chicago, "Chicago mayoral candidates Johnson, Vallas face off in FOX 32 Forum," March 22, 2023
- ↑ Politico, "Quinn endorsing Vallas," March 22, 2023
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Mayoral candidates debate who would tax and spend responsibly: ‘You clearly don’t know about budgets,'" March 16, 2023
- ↑ NBC Chicago, "NBC 5, Telemundo Chicago to Host First Runoff Election Forum With Vallas, Johnson," March 6, 2023
- ↑ RV=Registered Voters
LV=Likely Voters - ↑ The sponsor is the person or group that funded all or part of the poll.
- ↑ RV=Registered Voters
LV=Likely Voters - ↑ The sponsor is the person or group that funded all or part of the poll.
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ Amee LaTour, Email correspondence with the Center for Responsive Politics, August 5, 2022
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "America’s Cities Need Republicans, and I’m Becoming One," September 22, 2023
- ↑ Chicago Sun-Times, "Officials hope early voting sites opening in all 50 wards will boost low numbers," February 11, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "Lori Lightfoot elected Chicago mayor, will be 1st black woman and 1st openly gay person to hold post," April 2, 2019
- ↑ City of Chicago, "Chicago Government," accessed August 29, 2014
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