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The Chicago Sun-Times reported Jan. 7 that Rahm Emanuel is leading in the Chicago mayoral poll.
A Teamster/Anzalone Liszt Research poll of 500 likely voters indicated Emanuel, former White House chief of staff, would receive 42 percent of the vote; former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun polled second with 26 percent; former School Board President Gery Chico was third with 10 percent; and City Clerk Miguel Del Valle polled 7 percent.
The Democratic primary will be held Feb. 22. If no one takes 50 percent outright, a runoff will be held between the top two finishers on April 5. Republican candidates are not really a factor in the race.
Emanuel's early lead is not surprising - he has name recognition and television ads working in his favor.
Chico just received an endorsement from U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, which could provide a boost to his campaign.
The Rev. James Meeks and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis recently dropped out of the race to try and rally black support around one candidate, Braun. Braun's share of polling increased after Meeks and Davis got out, but so did Emanuel's. If Braun can keep her foot out of her mouth - a tall order sometimes - I am betting on the race getting a little closer.
I expect Emanuel to come out of the primary with more votes than anyone else and face Braun in the runoff. Braun will have her hands full in a head-to-head matchup with Emanuel.
I'm thinking of sending a complimentary bottle of ibuprofen to the whoever wins. Being mayor of anything - let alone Chicago - is a big headache.
Eric Fodor covered local politics and the court system since 2001 for the Daily Register/Daily Journal -- until he recently became an employee of Saline County. Before that, he dipped his toe in the water in Carrier Mills village politics, first as a village board member, then as mayor from 1996-1998. He then came to his senses and went back to college before joining the newspaper. While no longer an employee of the newspaper, he has indicated he intends to continue blogging from time-to-time.
