Progressive Brandon Johnson will be created mayor of Chicago, succeeding Lori Lightfoot, jos projects – CNN

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Chicago voters will choose Brandon Johnson, a progressive Cook County commissioner backed by a powerful teachers union, as the city’s next mayor, CNN projects.

Johnson will win Tuesday’s election runoffs over Paul Vallas, a moderate former city schools superintendent who ran on a pro-policy message race where concerns about violent crime were central.

Johnson told supporters his victory “had ushered in a new chapter in our city’s history” and “a bold, progressive move” that showed he was blue for the country.

“Now Chicago will begin to work for its people — all the people. Because this night is the gate of the new city of our future; where the city can thrive, no matter who you love or how much money you have in your bank,” he said.

Fences said during his election night event that Johnson had called to concede the race.

“I ran this campaign to bring to the city, it would not be that which fulfilled my ambitions, if there were more elections to divide us. It is therefore important that we use this opportunity to meet, and I have given him full support in his transition,” said Vallas.

Vallas and Johnson were vying to replace Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whose bid for a second term ended when the nine-candidate finished third on Nov. 1 — failing to advance to a top-two runoff.

Levipes spared the two most powerful forces of this year’s major race: the fraternal order of Chicago Poles, Vallas, and the Chicago Teachers Union, which left Johnson – a former teacher and organizer of the union.

The clash between the two unions is part of a larger battle over how the city has handled the Covid-19 pandemic – a time when violent crime has increased and schools have been closed.

Billboards served as a pro-police, tough-on-crime message. He vowed to fill hundreds of vacancies in the Chicago Police Department, and said he would focus on community politics and public transit officers after a recent spike in crime at Chicago Transit Authority trains and stations scared many commuters.

He also touts Johnson’s history of helping calls to “defund the police” – a message popular with progressives in 2020 in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd but which has been withdrawn amid rising violent crime in Chicago and other cities. Top Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have long rejected the slogan.

Johnson said on the campaign trail that he didn’t want to cut police spending. He said he would promote 200 new detectives, arguing that solving more crimes would increase confidence in the police and Chicago residents to determine crime.

In his victory speech on Tuesday, Johnson alluded to his fight with Vallas on crime and policing. He said he envisions “a safer city for everyone, investing in what actually goes into preventing crime.” And this means youth employment, mental health centers, so that law enforcement has the resources to solve and prevent crimes.

In the weeks leading up to the runoff, Vallas and Johnson are circling around 45% of the electorate who voted for neither in February.

Especially Black and Latino voters outside the progressive base of Johnson and Vallas have identified support in White ethnic neighborhoods and the northern part of the city.

The billboards featured only Black Chicago politicians, including former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and former US Rep. Bobby Rush, in closing a television panel to add Democratic credentials.

Johnson had proven that Vallas was too conservative for the city’s electorate in which 83% of voters supported the Democratic presidential ticket in 2020. He highlighted the donations Vallas’ campaign received from businesses and Republicans, as well as digital ads paid for by the PAC. through ties to former Trump Education Secretary Thomas DeVos.

“You take Trump’s dollars and as part of a progressive man’s movement, you sit down and try to pass,” Johnson said at a rally in Chicago with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders next Saturday.

This story has been updated with additional information.