Mayor Lori Lightfoot concedes defeat, setting stage for Chicago’s mayoral race to be between Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas

Mayor Lori Lightfoot conceded defeat Tuesday night, ending her efforts for a second term and setting the stage for Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson to run against former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas for Chicago mayor.

A visibly shaken Lightfoot conceded the race just before 9 p.m. and said she will be “rooting and praying for our next mayor to deliver for the people of the city for years to come.”

She continued: “I looked into the camera and spoke directly to young people of color who looked like me and to every kid who felt like I did when I grew up. And I’m going to do that again tonight.”

“Obviously, we didn’t win the election today, but I stand here with my head held high and a heart full of gratitude,” Lightfoot said in brief remarks, highlighting how the city emerged from a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and made “real progress on public safety.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot takes the stage to give a concession speech during her election night watch party at the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council on Feb. 28, 2023. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

The Associated Press just before 9 p.m. called the race for Johnson, who in addition to defeating Lightfoot also outmuscled U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García.

[ 2023 election results ]

Johnson’s victory sets up an ideological battle with Vallas over the future path of the nation’s third-largest city. The two will face off in five weeks on April 4.

Vallas scored the top spot in the first round of the mayoral campaign.

Unofficial results showed Vallas garnered 35% of the vote with 90% of the precincts reporting. Johnson was second with 20%, followed by Lightfoot at 17% and García at 14%.

With nine candidates running, including seven Black candidates, few expected Tuesday’s election would be the final say on the 2023 race for mayor.

Vallas spoke to his supporters shortly afterward, surrounded by a gleeful campaign staff as he announced that Lightfoot had called to congratulate him on securing a spot in the runoff.

“I want to thank the voters of Chicago for making this campaign about the issues, and nothing but the issues,” Vallas said, a pointed rebuke of attacks from nearly all his rivals who had attempted to paint him as a Republican.

Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas speaks with supporters after forcing a mayoral runoff election during his election night gathering at City Hall Events on Feb. 28, 2023, in Chicago’s West Loop. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

“You cannot erase the record; public service is in my DNA,” Vallas said. “I am the grandson of Greek American immigrants.”

But the clear victor of Tuesday night did not linger on that negativity, instead beaming at how he hasn’t been this happy since his son returned from war in Afghanistan.

The former education chief, who throughout the race echoed that public safety is a “fundamental right,” continued with a campaign promise that the now-lame duck mayor too had pledged: “We will make Chicago the safest city in America.”

“Are you with me?” Vallas asked his supporters, who responded by chanting “Vallas, Vallas, Vallas.”

Over at Johnson’s campaign party, the atmosphere was just as ecstatic as supporters of the newest face of Chicago’s progressive coalition chanted, “We want Brandon.”

“Well, here’s Brandon,” Johnson opened, a clear reference to the famous “You want Harold? Well, here’s Harold!” line Harold Washington uttered when he was elected Chicago’s first Black mayor in 1983. “Well, Chicago, we did it, y’all. You know, they said that this would never happen. I am so freakin’ proud.”

The commissioner took a moment to celebrate his arc from growing up as a foster child, one of 10 siblings and the son of a pastor — and then went after Vallas in the first attacks of the runoff season.

Cook County Commissioner and Chicago mayoral candidate, Brandon Johnson speaks with supporters after forcing a mayoral runoff election during his election night gathering on Feb. 28, 2023. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

“This is the truth about Paul Vallas: He has literally failed everywhere he has gone. In fact, Paul Vallas is the author of ‘The Tale of Two Cities,’” Johnson said, again accusing Vallas of being a closet Republican. “Chicago, we cannot have this man as the mayor of the city of Chicago.”

Others running included businessman Willie Wilson, state Rep. Kambium “Kam” Buckner, Ald. Sophia King, 4th, Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, and community activist Ja’Mal Green. Wilson scored with 9% of the vote and the remaining candidates each received 2% or less of the vote.

Wilson’s position in the race was critical to the result. The businessman campaigned vigorously with Lightfoot in 2019 but their relationship fell apart before she even took office, spurring his run and potentially siphoning votes from the reelection seeking mayor.

Though he didn’t formally concede, Wilson said he hadn’t given too much thought about who he would support in the runoff. But Wilson said “one thing I’m proud to say here tonight” was word that Lightfoot has conceded the race.

”You won’t see her no more after today,” Wilson said. “So, that’s a blessing to Chicago.”

Mayoral candidate Willie Wilson greets supporters at his election night event on Feb. 28, 2023 at the Swissotel in Chicago. (Lou Foglia/for the Chicago Tribune)

The final matchup was a stunning blow to Lightfoot, who became the first full-term incumbent to fail to win reelection since Jane Byrne lost to Washington in 1983. It was also a clear indication that after an arduous four years, residents were clamoring for a new direction from City Hall. But what direction that is remains to be seen.

The more conservative Vallas and progressive Johnson sparred throughout the divisive campaign, which saw the two typically on opposite ends of the biggest issues in the race — education and crime.

Vallas, 69, has long been a critic of the Chicago Teachers Union that Johnson helps lead, asserting the union’s work stoppages during the pandemic harmed children’s well-being and hurt their growth for generations. Johnson, 46, regularly paints Vallas’ approach to public education as “morally bankrupt” for its promotion of private school vouchers and expansion of charters across the country.

On crime, Vallas has spouted tough talk and positioned himself as the pro-law enforcement candidate who will stamp out the “complete lawlessness” he has seen in Chicago by, among other things, reversing police department rules he contends restrict cops from doing their jobs. Johnson, meanwhile, decried the city’s reliance on policing as a “failed” strategy and instead promised a new citywide strategy that would shift focus toward community investments in housing, mental health and more.

This is a breaking new story. Please find more of our election coverage here.

gpratt@chicagotribune.com

ayin@chicagotribune.com