Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot might lose her Feb. 28 reelection race, according to a poll released Wednesday.
Lightfoot trailed just behind former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, a Democrat, and Democratic Illinois Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García in a dead heat race, according to the WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times/Telemundo Chicago/NBC5 poll. The two challengers have hammered Lightfoot over the city’s worsening crime problems under her leadership.
Lightfoot earned 17% of the vote compared to 18% for Vallas and 20% for Garcia; the difference between the three candidates falls within the poll’s four-point margin of error, according to the poll. Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson got 11% support, businessman Willie Wilson won 12% and 18% of respondents were undecided.
The city saw a 40% increase in crime from 2021 to 2022 including a 132% increase in motor vehicle thefts, a 56% increase in sexual assault reports, a 15% increase in robberies and a 52% increase in thefts, according to the city’s crime statistics. Several major corporations have announced plans to exit the city over the past year amid rising crime, and about 9 in 10 Chicago residents considered leaving the city for lower-crime areas in the past year, according to a January AARP poll.
Lightfoot, who now denies being a “defunder,” pledged to cut $80 million from the city’s police budget during protests in 2020.
Lightfoot did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Republished with permission from Daily Caller News Foundation
