Far-Left Democrat Brandon Johnson Wins Chicago Mayoral Race

Chicago voters on Tuesday elected far-left activist and teachers’-union lobbyist Brandon Johnson to be the next mayor of the nation’s third-largest city.

The Associated Press called the race for Johnson just after 9:30 p.m. in Chicago. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Johnson won 284,108 votes, or 51.5 percent. He defeated Paul Vallas, a more moderate Democrat, who won 268,115 voters, or 48.6 percent.

“You know, they said this would never happen,” Johnson said during a raucous victory party Tuesday night.

“To the Chicagoans who did not vote for me, here’s what I want you to know … that I care about you, that I value you. I want to hear from you. I want to work with you. And I’ll be the mayor for you, too,” he said. “This campaign has always been about building a better, stronger, safer Chicago for all the people of Chicago.”

Johnson called Chicago a world-class city with natural beauty that has repeatedly been the conscience of the nation. He said he is part of a “multicultural, multigenerational movement that is literally capturing the imagination of not just the city of Chicago, but the rest of the world.”