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CHICAGO - Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Sunday that he will seek a second term in office in next year's election after a tumultuous first three-and-a-half years leading the city.
Johnson's campaign published a video on social media to announce his reelection campaign and told The New York Times about his plans in an interview.
"Four years ago, we promised to build the safest most affordable city in America by investing in people. Together we’ve made progress on delivering a better, stronger, and safer Chicago and our work is not done. Join us!" the campaign said in the video post.
The mayor is expected to make a formal announcement later this afternoon at the DuSable Black History Museum on the city's South Side.
The announcement comes after weeks, if not months, of speculation about whether Johnson would pursue a second term in office as he's garnered low approval ratings and a stalled agenda even as crime is at historic lows and major business has rebounded in Chicago.
Johnson began his career as a social studies teacher at multiple schools before working as a full-time organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union. He was elected twice to the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
He then won the 2023 mayoral election in a runoff against ex-CPS chief Paul Vallas by a 52.1% to 47.8% margin.
Second-term bid
What we know:
A reelection bid is no sure thing as Johnson faces a large field of challengers and low approval ratings. He's struggled to get his progressive economic agenda through City Council.
But Johnson has also pointed to his management of the city's migrant crisis, hosting the 2024 Democratic National Convention and through Operation Midway Blitz. The city also saw a historic drop in crime after pandemic-era highs.
Several big names have already announced their campaigns for mayor, including Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, outgoing Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, former Chicago Housing Authority CEO Matthew Brewer, Cook County Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas, entrepreneur Joe Holberg, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, and businessman Willie Wilson.
Election Day for the first round of voting in the mayoral race is set for Feb. 23.
If no candidate earns a majority of the vote, then the top-two vote earners will advance to a runoff election that will be held on April 6.
Johnson's struggles in office
The backstory:
Since winning a 2023 runoff election against Paul Vallas by riding on the support of the Chicago Teachers Union and progressive voters, Johnson has struggled to maintain popular support in City Council and among residents.
The city’s persistent fiscal challenges have limited what elected officials can accomplish. While violent crime has largely decreased since a pandemic-era high, incidents like attacks on the CTA system and large, at times, violent gatherings of young people have been a point of concern among critics and allies.
Johnson has also tried to keep the Chicago Bears in the city, but the team appears well on its way to leaving for Northwest Indiana. The mayor’s administration has also seen significant turnover of top officials and agency heads, some of whom have been very critical of the mayor.
All the while, Johnson has failed to get some of his larger policy initiatives through City Council. The body has increasingly shown an independent streak, especially on the mayor’s fiscal proposals.
Earlier this month, the University of Chicago’s Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation released a poll that found only 23% of respondents approved of Johnson’s performance as mayor, while 54.2% said they disapproved. About 22.9% had no opinion.
The mayor has continually dodged questions about whether he’d run for a second term. When he was asked about his plans last month as petitions began circulating, he said there was no clear timeline.
"I have not made any declaration or timeline around when I’ll make my intentions clear," he said at a news conference. "What my primary focus has been is ensuring that I carry out the hopes and dreams and aspirations of working people. So far, the city of Chicago is moving in the right direction. More people are visiting our city, more cranes in the air. We’ve created more jobs."
As of the end of July, the mayor’s campaign had a relatively modest $631,000 in the bank and raised about $108,000 in the second quarter of the year.