The 2023 Chicago mayoral election was held on February 28, 2023, to elect the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. With no candidate receiving a majority of votes in the initial round of the election, a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

was held on April 4. This two-round election took place alongside other 2023 Chicago elections, including races for

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

city clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...

city treasurer The municipal treasurer is a position of responsibility for a municipality according to the locally prevailing laws. The treasurer of a public agency is elected police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

district councils. The election was officially

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

, with winner Brandon Johnson being elected to a four-year term which began on May 15. Incumbent

Lori Lightfoot Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving since 2019 as the 56th mayor of Chicago. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as ...

ran for a second term in office, but conceded after placing third in the first round. Former

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...

Paul Vallas Paul Gust Vallas (born June 10, 1953) is an American politician and former superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools and the Recovery School District of Louisiana, former CEO of both the School District of Philadelphia and the Chicago Public ...

and

Cook County Commissioner The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the Uni ...

Brandon Johnson advanced to the runoff. Johnson defeated Vallas, in what was considered an upset. This was the first Chicago mayoral election since adopting nonpartisan

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

elections in which the candidate who won the most votes in the first round did not win the runoff.

Candidates

Advanced to the runoff

Eliminated in the first round

Disqualified

* Johnny Logalbo, freelance counselor ''(ran a write-in campaign)'' * Frederick Collins,

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...

officer and candidate for mayor in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Withdrew

* John Catanzara, president of the Chicago

Fraternal Order of Police The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 355,000 members organized in 2,100 local chapters (lodges), state lodges, and the ...

''(endorsed Vallas)'' * Bradley Laborman, actor and realtor *Montelle Gaji *

Raymond Lopez Raymond Anthony Lopez (born May 26, 1978) is an American politician who is currently a member of the Chicago City Council serving as alderman of the 15th Ward in Chicago, Illinois. A member of the Democratic Party, Lopez was first elected as De ...

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

from the 15th ward since 2015 ''(ran for reelection, endorsed Wilson in first round and Vallas in runoff)''

Declined

The following speculated potential candidates did not run: * Bill Conway, portfolio manager, former assistant

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

state's attorney, and candidate for

Cook County state's attorney The Cook County State's Attorney functions as the state of Illinois's district attorney for Cook County, Illinois, and heads the second-largest prosecutor's office in the United States. The office has over 700 attorneys and 1,100 employees. In ad ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

''( ran for city council)'' * Stacy Davis Gates, president of the

Chicago Teachers Union The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is a labor union that represents teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians in the Chicago public school system. The union has consistently fought for improved pay, benefits, and job security for its members, an ...

Arne Duncan Arne Starkey Duncan (born November 6, 1964) is an American educator who served as United States Secretary of Education from 2009 to 2015 and as Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools from 2001 to 2008. A lifelong resident of Chicago, Du ...

, former

U.S. secretary of education The United States secretary of education is the head of the U.S. Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on policies, programs, and activities rel ...

(2009–2016) and former

chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools is headed by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) appointed by the mayor of Chicago. Currently serving as CEO is Pedro Martinez. This job is equivalent to a superintendent, and, before 1995, the occupant of this office was kno ...

(2001–2009) ''(endorsed Vallas)'' * La Shawn Ford,

Illinois state representative The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

from the 8th district (2007–present) and candidate for mayor in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

* Janice Jackson, former

* Mike Quigley,

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Illinois's 5th congressional district The 5th congressional district of Illinois covers parts of Cook and DuPage counties, as of the 2011 redistricting which followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Chicago, Elmhurst, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, Hinsdale, La Grange Park, N ...

since 2009 ''(endorsed García)'' * Pat Quinn, former

governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

(2009–2015) ''(endorsed García in the first round, then endorsed Vallas in the runoff)'' *

Tom Tunney Thomas M. Tunney (born August 22, 1955) is an American politician and entrepreneur from Chicago, Illinois. Since 2003, he has served as an alderman on the Chicago City Council. He represents the prominent 44th Ward of the city, which includes ma ...

from the 44th Ward (2003–2023) and vice-mayor (2019–2023) ''(endorsed Vallas)'' *

Jesse Sharkey Jesse Sharkey (born 1970) is an American former schoolteacher and labor leader in Chicago. From 2010 to 2014, he was the Vice President of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). In October 2014, he became acting President of the CTU after Karen Lewis ...

, former president of the

* Anna Valencia,

Chicago City Clerk The City Clerk of Chicago is in charge of record-keeping for the city of Chicago and its elections. When the Chicago City Council is in session, the City Clerk serves as council secretary. This position is a citywide elected office, one of three ...

since 2017 and candidate for

Illinois secretary of state The Secretary of State of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the government of Illinois, and one of the 47 secretaries of states in the United States. The Illinois Secretary of State keeps the state records, laws, libr ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

''( ran for reelection)''

First round

First round campaign

Lightfoot's administration faced criticism due to rising crime rates in Chicago and accusations of covering up police misconduct. During her term, she clashed with members of the

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...

, the

, and

Illinois governor The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

J. B. Pritzker Jay Robert "J. B." Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and politician serving as the 43rd governor of Illinois since 2019. A member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which owns the worldwide ...

's administration. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' remarked that she had an "uncanny ability to make political enemies." However, Lightfoot received praise for her efforts to build affordable housing, repair dilapidated areas of the city, and raise the minimum wage. A wide field of nine challengers qualified for the ballot. Polling of the race was largely inconsistent but indicated that Lightfoot was in danger of losing re-election and that the candidates with the best chance of making a runoff were Lightfoot, U.S. Representative

Chuy García Jesús G. "Chuy" García (born April 12, 1956) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 4th district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, as well a ...

commissioner Brandon Johnson, former

CEO

, and businessman Willie Wilson. Polling also showed that Garcia enjoyed heavy support from Latino voters, while a plurality of white voters backed Vallas and a plurality of black voters backed Lightfoot. Vallas and Wilson were considered more moderate than Lightfoot, with García and Johnson being more progressive. However, many organizations in the coalition of labor unions and progressive groups that supported García in his 2015 campaign instead backed Johnson in 2023. Lightfoot faced controversy when she emailed public school teachers offering school credit for students who interned on her campaign and when she told South Side residents to either vote for her or not vote at all, while Vallas faced accusations that he lived outside the city. Lightfoot ran ads tying García to

Sam Bankman-Fried Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried (born March 6, 1992), also known by the initialism SBF, is an American suspected fraudster, entrepreneur, investor, and former billionaire. Bankman-Fried was the founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX ...

and

Michael Madigan Michael Joseph Madigan (born April 19, 1942) is an American politician who is the former speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. He was the longest-serving leader of any state or federal legislative body in the history of the United Sta ...

and accusing Johnson of wanting to reduce police budgets. She and García also ran ads accusing Vallas of being an anti-abortion Democrat in name only. García also questioned whether Johnson could be objective as mayor given his close relationship with the Chicago Teachers Union, while Johnson in turn accused García of "abandoning the progressive movement" by adopting a more moderate policy platform in his 2023 campaign. Several days before the election, Fran Spielman of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' opined that polls demonstrated Paul Vallas to be the top

front-runner In politics, a front-runner (also spelled frontrunner or front runner) is a leader in an electoral race. While the front-runner in athletic events (the namesake of the political concept) is generally clear, a political front-runner, particularly i ...

, being likely to place either first or second in the initial round of voting and advance to a runoff, with Garcia, Johnson, and Lightfoot in contention for the second runoff spot.

First round polling

Only showing polls by more-established polling sources: Bendixen & Amandi, GBAO, Impact Research, Lester & Associates, Mason–Dixon, Ogden & Fry, Public Policy Polling, and Victory Research Note:

FiveThirtyEight ''FiveThirtyEight'', sometimes rendered as ''538'', is an American website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging in the United States. The website, which takes its name from the number of electors in th ...

rates pollsters with

letter grade Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

s ranging from A+ to F, with A+ being the highest rating and F being the lowest
see more

Aggregates of first round polls

First round endorsements

First round results

2023 Chicago mayoral first round election turnout map by precinct

The Chicago Board of Elections has claimed that

early voting Early voting, also called advance polling or pre-poll voting, is a convenience voting process by which voters in a public election can vote before a scheduled election day. Early voting can take place remotely, such as via postal voting, or in ...

turnout in its 2023 municipal election is higher than early voting turnout in any previous Chicago municipal election. Vallas and Johnson advanced to the April runoff.

Runoff

Runoff polling

Only showing polls by more-established polling sources: BSP Research, Emerson, Lake Research Partners, Mason–Dixon, Victory Research Note:

rates pollsters with

s ranging from A+ to F, with A+ being the highest rating and F being the lowest
see more

Aggregates of runoff polls

Hypothetical runoff scenario polls

Runoff endorsements

Endorsements in bold were made after the first round.

Runoff results

2023 Chicago mayoral runoff election turnout map by precinct

Notes

References

External links

;Official campaign websites
Brandon Johnson (D) for Mayor

Paul Vallas (D) for Mayor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicago mayoral election, 2023 Mayoral election 2023 Illinois elections 2023 United States mayoral elections February 2023 events in the United States April 2023 events in the United States

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...