Lightfoot locked in tight three-way battle in Chicago mayor’s race: poll

Lori Lightfoot (D) is locked in a tight three-way battle in the Chicago mayoral race against Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) and Paul Vallas, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, according to a new poll. 

The poll, conducted for the Chicago Sun-Times, Telemundo Chicago, NBC 5 Chicago and WBEZ public radio and managed by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, found that 20 percent of likely Chicago voters support García, 18 percent support Vallas and only 17 percent support Lightfoot. 

The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points, effectively tying all three in the race.

The polling also showed that 71 percent of voters believed Chicago was on the “wrong track”; 61 percent disapproved of Lightfoot’s job as the top executive of the city and gave Lightfoot a high unfavorable rating of 54 percent.

The survey also suggests that the other candidates may not be as well known, given that Vallas had a favorable rating of 30 percent compared to an unfavorable rating of 20 percent. García had a 33 percent favorable rating compared to 18 percent who viewed him unfavorably.

Given no one candidate listed has notched more than half of the vote in this survey, it’s almost certain that the mayoral race will be headed into an April runoff. The top two candidates with the most votes in the Feb. 28 election will advance into an April 4 runoff.

The survey shows that Lightfoot is struggling with Chicago voters. Her image among the electorate, as well as state and city officials alike, has been painted as combative as the city grapples with key issues of crime and public safety. 

Mayoral candidates in the race have referenced that issue, with one candidate, Alderman Sophia King, saying during their first televised debate last month that Chicago needed someone who “attacks the city’s problems and not its people.”

The poll was conducted between Jan. 31 and Feb. 3, with 625 likely Chicago voters surveyed.