Lori Lightfoot loses in first round of Chicago mayoral election

This Tuesday Chicago voters went to the polls to elect a mayor. However, none of the nine candidates managed to win more than 50% of the required votes, so a run-off election will have to be held.

With 90% of the votes counted, it was determined that Paul Vallas, the former superintendent of Chicago Public Schools (CPS), led the race with 34.9% of the vote, followed by the Cook County Board of County Commissioners member, Brandon Johnson with 20.2% of the vote.

Incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot's loss was unexpected. She came in third with 16.4% of the vote, just ahead of Illinois Congressman Jesus "Chuy" Garcia who had 13.9% of the vote.

"Obviously, we didn’t win the election. But, I stand here with my head held high and my heart full of thanks," Lightfoot said after hearing the results shortly before 9 p.m., forcing her to step down for the race.

Mayors of large cities tend to win re-elections relatively easily. However, Lightfoot faced heavy criticism for the drastic reduction in the number of police officers during her time in office and the city's rising crime rate.

In fact, Chicago's election was largely about crime, after the Windy City was named the "crime capital" of the country.

The other candidates were: Activist Ja'Mal Green, Councilwoman Sophia King, State Representative Kam Buckner, Businessman Willie Wilson, and Councilman Roderick Sawyer. However, none of them achieved a double-digit percentage. Vallas and Johnson will face off in the second round of the election on April 4.