New poll shows Lightfoot in third place in Chicago mayoral race

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) is currently in third place in the city’s mayoral election, according to a new Victory Research poll, released as voters head to the polls on Tuesday.

The poll found that nearly 19 percent of voters support Lightfoot for reelection, putting her behind former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas (27 percent) and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson (20 percent).

Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) was in fourth place at 15 percent, with businessman Willie Wilson in fifth at 11 percent.

Lightfoot, the city’s first Black woman and first openly gay person to serve as mayor, is facing an uphill battle against eight challengers looking to unseat her.

Lightfoot, 60, needs to be one of the two top vote-getters Tuesday in order to head to a runoff election in April, assuming no candidate wins at least 50 percent of the vote. 

Nearly 245,000 votes were cast through early voting sites and mail-in balloting before Tuesday’s election, according to NBC Chicago affiliate WMAQ. 

The Victory Research survey was conducted from Feb. 24-26 with a total of 806 Chicago-based respondents and a margin of error of 3.45 percent.