2023 Chicago Mayoral/Aldermanic Elections

[Mr. Illini]

https://twitter.com/Brandon4Chicago/status/1637811813487194115?s=20

This is a big deal. Presumably his wife, the city Treasurer, will do the same, since they are a political unit.

Bucks the trend of establishment Black alderpeople endorsing Vallas.

It's smart politics tbh. They can control Johnson, but getting Vallas elected is basically like letting the GOP donor base decide Chicago's policy agenda.

Are you referring to Ken Griffin? Bc outside of that, Vallas is not answering to a GOP donor base. He would be answering to real estate developers, most of whom are Democrats in this town but who mostly just care about getting favorable TIF arrangements and expeditious zoning approvals. These are the same people who largely funded Lightfoot and Rahm’s campaigns, by the way.

Johnson’s biggest contributor by far, on the other hand, is the Chicago Teachers Union, which these establishment Black alderpeople have a poor relationship with.

I’m not sure they are confident they can control either of these candidates. Hence why they have largely split on endorsements.

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/Brandon4Chicago/status/1637811813487194115

This is a big deal. Presumably his wife, the city Treasurer, will do the same, since they are a political unit.

Bucks the trend of establishment Black alderpeople endorsing Vallas.

She did 2 days ago:

https://twitter.com/HeatherCherone/status/1637108262767149057
He's following up on her:

https://twitter.com/HeatherCherone/status/1637828677970038784

[Gass3268]

https://twitter.com/natashakorecki/status/1637978021905809408?s=20

[kwabbit]

https://twitter.com/natashakorecki/status/1638000976454991877

Bobby Rush to endorse Vallas.

Rush might be the most valuable endorsement when it comes to the South Side Black vote and could be the most valuable endorsement overall, although Johnson getting Chuy is huge.

When was the last time the Black establishment was so split on endorsements? Besides 2019, which was two Black candidates.

[Landslide Lyndon]

WTF happened with Rush? First Bloomberg, now this.

[Mr. Illini]

Yeah, the last cycle was the last time the Black political establishment was so split. Before that, you would probably have to go back further for sure.

It’s pretty late in the game for Rush, though. I expected him to do it right away, which would’ve been helpful for Vallas in setting the tone among Black pols.

[coloradocowboi]

WTF happened with Rush? First Bloomberg, now this.

The dude has been bought and paid for a long time now. But pretty much every old man in the CBC has drifted rightward over the years with every free dinner and lobbyist paid for trip

[Gass3268]

Brutal ad

https://twitter.com/Brandon4Chicago/status/1638163554359451648?s=20

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

Black Panther to Vallas supporter is an interesting character development

[Mr. Illini]

https://twitter.com/FrankCalabrese/status/1638168078390272000?s=20

Current aldermanic endorsements.

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

Random aside: I've never seen the word 'alderman' before this thread. I think I'll add it to my vernacular now

[Gass3268]

https://twitter.com/capitolfax/status/1638370088934952963?s=20

[Oryxslayer]

https://twitter.com/capitolfax/status/1638370088934952963?s=20

That should be as close to an endorsement Pritzker will give, which already is unusual. But if Vallas keeps poking the bear the governor will act and kill his campaign.

[wbrocks67]

Not sure why Pritzker just doesn't endorse Johnson at this point. Also not sure how any Dem would vote for Vallas at this point, given he's sh*t on basically every major Dem now.

[Gracile]

Not sure why Pritzker just doesn't endorse Johnson at this point. Also not sure how any Dem would vote for Vallas at this point, given he's sh*t on basically every major Dem now.

Given his experiences with Lightfoot, I don't think he wants to jeopardize his relationship with the potential future mayor.

[Gracile]

It is interesting, though, because Vallas explicitly mentioned Pritzker in his primary and that he would support the governor's agenda on things like abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, etc. - essentially tying himself to the popular (among Democrats) governor as a way to quell talk that he might be a Republican, and getting some voters who may have been on the fence to support him. Given that context, I don't think these statements that have come to light contradicting that message are helpful for him.

[kwabbit]

Not sure why Pritzker just doesn't endorse Johnson at this point. Also not sure how any Dem would vote for Vallas at this point, given he's sh*t on basically every major Dem now.

It's not like Johnson is a generic D. He's on the left fringes of the party and was a pretty vocal defund the police supporter (and kind of still is). I don't think Pritzker wants to be associated with either of them, especially since if he runs for President he'll have to field constant questions about crime in Chicago.

Vallas is also an institution in Chicago. He's been prominent for 25 years at this point and surely has a working relationship with the public face of the Chicago billionaire family. I think that's what's buying Vallas endorsements across racial and ideological lines. The big players know him on a personal level but probably don't for Johnson.

[Gass3268]

Not sure why Pritzker just doesn't endorse Johnson at this point. Also not sure how any Dem would vote for Vallas at this point, given he's sh*t on basically every major Dem now.

It's not like Johnson is a generic D. He's on the left fringes of the party and was a pretty vocal defund the police supporter (and kind of still is). I don't think Pritzker wants to be associated with either of them, especially since if he runs for President he'll have to field constant questions about crime in Chicago.

Vallas is also an institution in Chicago. He's been prominent for 25 years at this point and surely has a working relationship with the public face of the Chicago billionaire family. I think that's what's buying Vallas endorsements across racial and ideological lines. The big players know him on a personal level but probably don't for Johnson.

Unless he was busy destroying New Orleans and Philadelphia schools.

[kwabbit]

Not sure why Pritzker just doesn't endorse Johnson at this point. Also not sure how any Dem would vote for Vallas at this point, given he's sh*t on basically every major Dem now.

It's not like Johnson is a generic D. He's on the left fringes of the party and was a pretty vocal defund the police supporter (and kind of still is). I don't think Pritzker wants to be associated with either of them, especially since if he runs for President he'll have to field constant questions about crime in Chicago.

Vallas is also an institution in Chicago. He's been prominent for 25 years at this point and surely has a working relationship with the public face of the Chicago billionaire family. I think that's what's buying Vallas endorsements across racial and ideological lines. The big players know him on a personal level but probably don't for Johnson.

Unless he was busy destroying New Orleans and Philadelphia schools.

He got the lieutenant governor nomination right after he got back from destroying NO and Philly public schools so it didn’t bother the establishment too much.

[Mr. Illini]

Not sure why Pritzker just doesn't endorse Johnson at this point. Also not sure how any Dem would vote for Vallas at this point, given he's sh*t on basically every major Dem now.

It's not like Johnson is a generic D. He's on the left fringes of the party and was a pretty vocal defund the police supporter (and kind of still is). I don't think Pritzker wants to be associated with either of them, especially since if he runs for President he'll have to field constant questions about crime in Chicago.

One hundred percent. I don’t know why some people don’t seem to understand this.

People who don’t live here seem to want to make this a Republican vs Democrat thing. I can tell you that I know a host of people who are Democrats and Biden voters that will vote for Vallas in a couple weeks.

[Gracile]

Anyway:

https://twitter.com/royalpratt/status/1638535233426341888

Not a surprising endorsement, but still newsworthy enough.

[Illiniwek]

Not sure why Pritzker just doesn't endorse Johnson at this point. Also not sure how any Dem would vote for Vallas at this point, given he's sh*t on basically every major Dem now.

It's not like Johnson is a generic D. He's on the left fringes of the party and was a pretty vocal defund the police supporter (and kind of still is). I don't think Pritzker wants to be associated with either of them, especially since if he runs for President he'll have to field constant questions about crime in Chicago.

One hundred percent. I don’t know why some people don’t seem to understand this.

People who don’t live here seem to want to make this a Republican vs Democrat thing. I can tell you that I know a host of people who are Democrats and Biden voters that will vote for Vallas in a couple weeks.

This. I know this is a very simple way of thinking about things (many of these voters will be thinking on simple levels....), but there are a lot of people here who think things were better when the town was run by the Daleys, and Vallas is the closest thing to having that in 2023.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Another resounding endorsement for Vallas,

https://twitter.com/aenelson4/status/1638627824276783112?s=20

[Gass3268]

New Victory Research poll has Vallas lead at 2, down 3 points from 3/10. Johnson starting to get the massive margins he needs in the black neighborhoods.

https://twitter.com/jeffo773/status/1638879316569382912?s=46&t=cnaSCfvIMWiF0...

[wbrocks67]

Is 45-46-ish Vallas's ceiling? Was also Caruso's.

https://twitter.com/JacobRubashkin/status/1638913048843890689