Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago, thanked the electorate for giving him a “second term and a second chance” as he defeated rival Garcia on Tuesday night.
In spite of this, Emanuel, whose tenacious political character is legendary, came across as modest following a bitter six-week runoff contest that served as a proxy war between the surging progressive side of the Democratic party and the more established centrist bloc.
“Thanks for putting me through my paces, I appreciate it. In his victory speech, Emanuel promised the crowd, “I will be a better mayor as a result. The infamously sarcastic former chief of staff for President Barack Obama also pledged to make changes in his second term.
I hear you, Chicago,” he said. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, but I recognize that I need to tackle these challenges differently.”
The left had doubts about Emanuel during the campaign. But after winning, he listed a number of progressive policies, including an increase in the minimum wage, and vowed to bring the city together.
However, he issued a warning, saying “In an age of difficult decisions, I can’t promise that everyone will be delighted with every decision.” The city is currently facing serious financial difficulties, including a $300 million operating budget shortfall and a $20 billion pension issue, which have led to several downgrades in the city’s bond rating.
Chicago’s teachers, working-class, and minority neighborhoods widely opposed the measures Emanuel implemented to try to address the city’s financial problems, which finally forced Emanuel to a runoff in February.
Now that he has won the election with 56% of the vote to Garcia’s 44%, with around three-fourths of the precincts reporting, Emanuel must deal with those economic difficulties. Garcia, on the other hand, claimed that when he contacted Emanuel to offer his concession on Tuesday night, he really gave more of a campaign speech, casting his defeat in a positive light and blasting Chicago’s status quo.
He told a gathering of fans, “We didn’t lose today, we tried today. “We battled valiantly for everything we hold dear.” He continued by lamenting Chicago’s “growth issue,” which cannot be resolved by taxes or borrowing, and he demanded better public schools and a reduction in crime in the streets of the city.
According to early election statistics, Emanuel was successful in increasing voter turnout in Chicago’s predominantly white communities along the lakefront and on the city’s North side, as well as in maintaining a commanding advantage in the city’s African American neighborhoods on the West and South sides.
Early voting has significantly increased in this election, with over 142,000 Chicago residents casting ballots early, up from just under 90,000 before the election in February, which saw unusually low turnout.
But because turnout was low in places with a high Hispanic population, the early vote suggested Garcia was already at a disadvantage going into Election Day.
The Chicago Teachers’ Union and a few other local and leftist organizations aiming to remove Emanuel provided organizational support for Garcia’s campaign, which was confident of winning up until the very last.
In the final week of the election, the city’s financial difficulties came to the fore as Emanuel tried to portray Cook County Commissioner Garcia as inexperienced and unqualified to handle the city’s financial problems.