By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Five candidates are actively campaigning for Chicago mayor ahead of the February primary, with four months remaining before voters narrow the field, according to an on-air assessment by AM 560 radio host Dan Proft.
The race includes incumbent Mayor Brandon Johnson, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, former Comptroller Susanna Mendoza, candidate John Kelly and Danielle Walters, who is running with backing from the group Chicago Flips Red.
Proft, describing his own assessment of the race rather than published polling, placed Giannoulias in the lead. “Ali G is probably mid-30s, BLM Brandon is probably low 20s, Mendoza may be low teens and everybody else is like 5 percent or less,” Proft said, using nicknames for Giannoulias and Johnson.
Proft said Giannoulias benefits from institutional financial backing and name recognition built during his time as secretary of state, but faces a vulnerability tied to his family’s bank, which received a federal bailout.
Proft said Mendoza is the candidate best positioned to consolidate opposition to Giannoulias if she can build a broad coalition. “If it’s going to be anything other than a walk for Ali G, you’re going to have to have a coalition — the Anybody But Ali G Coalition,” Proft said. “Who is best positioned to do that? At this stage, assuming Mendoza’s petitions survive — that is Mendoza.”
Proft said Kelly’s campaign message, built around serving as a lobbyist for Chicago’s interests, has not defined a clear rationale for his candidacy, and that time is running short for him to do so.
Of Walters, Proft said, “She may be the best candidate in the field. But the resources and organization that she doesn’t have make it the longest of long shots.”
Mendoza’s nomination petitions are also under review by the Board of Elections, the same process now facing Johnson’s campaign over separate petition disputes. The outcome of those reviews could reshape the field before the February primary.
Chicago’s mayoral primary is nonpartisan and open to all registered voters regardless of party affiliation. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in February, the top two finishers advance to an April runoff.
The current field took shape over the past year as Johnson’s approval ratings have faced scrutiny over crime, the city budget and relations with the City Council. Giannoulias, Mendoza and the other candidates have each sought to distinguish their platforms ahead of the filing deadlines that preceded this week’s petition disputes.
