Mayor Brandon Johnson talks to reporters at a news conference in Chicago. | Nam Y. Huh/AP
By Shia Kapos | Politico
Mayor Brandon Johnson is launching his reelection campaign Sunday despite daunting approval ratings, betting the progressive coalition that helped elect him in 2023 is stronger now than it was four years ago.
The mayor confirmed his plans to POLITICO ahead of the announcement at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center on the city’s South Side. He plans to argue that his administration has followed through on policies he pitched when he first ran for office and that there is still unfinished business ahead.
“I made a promise four years ago that I would work every day to build the safest, most affordable big city in America by investing in people, and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” Johnson said, pointing to investments in affordable housing, infrastructure and mental health clinics, along with declining crime rates.
But the mayor also faces high disapproval ratings, with support for a prospective reelection bid at just 13.6 percent, according to a recent University of Chicago Mansueto Institute poll. He’ll also have to take on a field of strong Democratic challengers, including Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, Rep. Mike Quigley and state Comptroller Susana Mendoza – all of whom tack closer to the ideological center than Johnson.
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