Lynn Sweet is probably the best political commentator covering Chicago. Her take, which I agree with, is that
both candidates swiftly moved to the center during the run-off. The best hope is that Johnson learned things during the election process, moderated his ideas, and has a more balanced platform. Some of the comments here completely ignore the actual policies these guys talked about the last 2 weeks.
Quote:
The runoff found Brandon Johnson galloping toward the center, moving away from his lefty tax-the-rich, defund-the-police pals who are alienating some liberal Democrats who don’t agree with extremist politics.
The runoff showed the more conservative Paul Vallas sprinting away from statements he made about abortion rights while distancing himself from the footsie he played with Republicans.
This Chicago mayoral campaign rivals’ dash to the center is going to be instructive for national Democrats as President Joe Biden seeks a second term and Democrats try to reclaim the House and keep the Senate. Biden’s pragmatic approach to politics and policies is validated — just look at the pivots from the Vallas and Johnson campaigns.
Democrats can use this election as a cautionary case study: Middle-class, older Black voters, whom Democrats absolutely must have to keep the White House and control Congress, are not, writ large, that progressive, especially compared with Chicago’s white voters in the north lakefront wards.
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