Susana Mendoza announces run for Chicago mayor in 2027
CHICAGO - Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced on Wednesday she will again run for mayor of Chicago in next year’s election.
Mendoza, 54, is the latest big name to make it official that she will run for mayor, although other high-profile potential candidates have said they intend to join the race as well.
What we know:
She's been dropping hints about her run for City Hall, including a video of supportive messages from residents posted on her X account on Monday night. The X post simply read "#chicago" but the supporters in the video encouraged and pleaded with her to run for mayor.
Mendoza has also been more vocal in recent months about failures in the criminal legal system, especially when a first responder is injured or killed. She bashed the judge who had allowed a suspect out of jail before he allegedly shot and killed Chicago Police Ofc. John Bartholomew in April. On Tuesday, she published an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune aimed at Chicago Public Schools teachers, saying she understood their "frustration" over a proposal to increase dues for Chicago Teachers Union members.
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D) have said they are interested in running for mayor, as well as former alderman George Cardenas.
Mayor Brandon Johnson has repeatedly dodged questions over whether he would run for re-election after his unexpected win in 2023. His term has seen clashes with City Council over his fiscal management of the city and push for progressive policies on criminal justice and taxation.
The first round of voting in the next mayor’s race won’t happen until Feb. 23, 2027. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote in that round, the top two vote earners will advance to a runoff on April 6.
The backstory:
Mendoza has served as the state’s "chief fiscal control officer" for nearly a decade, during which she was tasked with maintaining the state’s fiscal accounts and the paying of its bills.
The Chicago native previously served as a state legislator for a decade and then as Chicago’s city clerk before being elected to comptroller in a special election in late 2016.
She also previously ran for mayor in 2019, a year that featured a deep field after then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel declined to run for a third term. Mendoza garnered only 9% of the vote, coming in fifth place. Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle advanced to the runoff, which Lightfoot won decisively.