Chicago Elections 2011: City Votes For New Mayor (541 hits)
Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel, right, shakes hands with Rev. Jesse Jackson and other diners while lunching at Chicago's Home of Chicken and Waffles Monday, Feb. 21, 2011, in Chicago.
CHICAGO -- As Chicago voters went to the polls Tuesday to pick a new mayor, the biggest question was whether former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had the support to win outright or whether one of his rivals would get enough votes to force a two-way runoff in April.
The answer could hinge on voter turnout - with low to moderate traffic at the polls likely favoring Emanuel, according to some political analysts. Emanuel has had big leads in voter surveys and fundraising throughout his candidacy, and was endorsed by both of the city's largest daily newspapers. ...
Tuesday's winner must receive more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.
The six candidates spent Tuesday in a last-minute push for votes, shaking hands with surprised commuters and diners and pleading their cases.
"This is a critical election for the future of the city of Chicago. We're at a crossroads," Emanuel said as he greeted commuters at a South Side train station.
The campaign began last fall when Daley - with his wife ailing, six terms under his belt, and a future of fiscal challenges facing Chicago - announced he wouldn't seek re-election.
Whoever wins will give the city a mayor unlike any it has had before: Emanuel would be Chicago's first Jewish mayor, Braun would be its first black woman mayor, and Chico or del Valle would be the city's first Hispanic mayor.
Justin Blake, a 42-year-old black general contractor who chatted with Emanuel on Tuesday, said voting for him was a no-brainer because of Emanuel's "knowledge of what's going on, not only here locally but worldwide.
