Brandon Johnson officially filed Friday to run for another term as mayor of Chicago. He submitted 33,000 signatures on his petition, which secures him a place on the ballot.
Those who filed earlier with the Chicago Board of Elections include Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, lobbyist John Kelly, Chicago Housing Authority board member Matt Brewer and businessman Willie Wilson. Last Monday, Giannoulias submitted 60,000 signatures of support, Quigley 42,000, Kelly 37,000, Brewer 32,000 and Wilson 30,000.
Johnson, who is seeking reelection, faces low public support, difficulty raising money and a large field of challengers who want to remove him from office. The Chicago mayoral election is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2027, and the deadline for filing petitions is Oct. 26. Johnson’s coalition with the labor movement has split after the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) refused to back him.
According to a recent poll conducted by NORC, support for Johnson is only 22%. The survey also found that 53% of Chicago voters view the current mayor’s performance unfavorably, while 25% have no opinion or are still undecided. Among likely voters, 59% said they supported Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias as a potential candidate, compared with 32% for Johnson.
The current mayor also lags far behind in campaign funds, with just $379,471 on hand. His main rival, Giannoulias, has about $19 million in his account. Even so, Johnson’s campaign believes that investments worth millions of dollars, a drop in crime and the fulfillment of campaign promises will persuade voters to let him keep his job.
Candidates for mayor of Chicago need only 12,500 valid signatures to appear on the ballot, but many of them try to collect far more in case the authenticity of signatures is challenged. The period for filing petitions with signatures began on Monday, Oct. 19, and on that day 16 candidates had already filed in the race for mayor. The filing deadline is 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26. The process of considering objections to the filings begins the next day. Johnson says he will not challenge other candidates’ filings.
The election will be held on Feb. 23, 2027, and a runoff, if necessary, on April 6.
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Source: Polski.FM
