Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) is projected to lose her bid for reelection, a stunning blow to an incumbent who made headlines as an underdog reformer candidate who defied expectations and won the city’s top job in 2019.
Lightfoot on Tuesday failed to be one of the top two vote-getters to notch a spot in the final round of voting in April, according to The Associated Press, making her the city’s first mayor to lose reelection in 40 years. A runoff was expected given the unlikeliness that any one candidate would outright win at least half of the vote on Tuesday.
Paul Vallas, former Chicago Public Schools CEO, and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson are projected to face each other in the April 4 runoff.
Lightfoot said during her concession speech on Tuesday evening that she called both Vallas and Johnson to congratulate them on making it into the runoff.
