The upcoming mayoral runoff in Chicago, pitting the tough-on-crime candidate Paul Vallas, a white former public schools chief, against progressive Black Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, is highlighting the Democratic Party’s internal divisions over crime, public safety, and policing. The contest also brings the issues of education and racial divisions to the forefront, threatening to exacerbate the ongoing rifts within the party. The race has become highly polarized, with each candidate representing an opposing view on issues such as policing and school choice. It is expected to get national coverage, with the two parties closely watching the outcome.
Republicans have long been using the issue of crime to their advantage, portraying Democratic cities as lawless and incompetent. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested that the Democrats’ loss in the House of Representatives in November could have been avoided if their candidates had a better answer to Republican attacks on crime, especially in New York. Republicans have also made education a central issue in their national comeback campaign, focusing on problems in the country’s schools, especially in the suburbs. They have been pushing for more school choice, through charter schools or vouchers to help public school students attend private schools.
The Chicago mayoral race will thus be a microcosm of a larger battle for the soul of the nation. It is expected to be a five-week intense campaign, with each party carefully watching the outcome. The Democratic establishment is likely to support Johnson, while Vallas is expected to receive the backing of Republicans. However, both candidates are members of the Democratic Party, and the ideological divide between them is crucial.
Johnson’s ardent progressivism, including his outspoken skepticism of policing as the answer to rising crime, could make him toxic to Democrats with national ambitions, including Illinois’ billionaire governor, J.B. Pritzker. On the other hand, Vallas’s pledge to beef up Chicago’s police force and unshackle officers from the controls put on them after high-profile police shootings could make him a hero of Republicans eying a run at the White House next year. But their endorsements would run counter to Vallas’s efforts in the nonpartisan mayoral race to persuade Chicagoans that he is a Democrat.
The race will highlight the Democrats’ internal divisions on issues such as policing, public safety, and education. The contest will take place in a city known for its bare-knuckled politics and racial divisions, which is expected to exacerbate the ongoing rifts within the party. The national parties will find it tricky to navigate these five weeks, with Republicans eager to make the crime debate central as they joust with each other for their party’s presidential nomination in 2024. They are not likely to stay quiet, with the potential to exploit the situation.
Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, an as-of-yet undeclared candidate for president, has already started his critique of big cities, visiting New York City, the Philadelphia suburbs, and a bedroom community outside Chicago to speak to police unions about crime. He lambasted what he called “woke” urban officials who he contends have eased up on policing and criminal prosecutions. He is planning to take his critique of big cities on a national tour, including stops in states with the first primaries, such as Iowa and New Hampshire.
In conclusion, the upcoming mayoral runoff in Chicago is expected to be a highly polarized contest that will highlight the Democrats’ internal divisions on issues such as policing, public safety, and education. The race is also expected to get national coverage, with the two parties closely watching the outcome. Republicans are likely to exploit the situation to make the crime debate central as they joust with each other for their party’s presidential nomination in 2024. The contest will take place in a city known for its bare-knuckled politics and racial divisions.
