Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost the city's election when she blamed the results on racism and sexism during comments on Tuesday night.
The Democratic lawmaker faced off and lost against Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson, who overtook her from the right and left parties. The leading issue in the Chicago election was a crime that forced Lightfoot to support the police.
Lori Lightfoot Loses Re-election Bid
In a statement, she said that she lost the election because she is a Black woman in the United States, but failed to acknowledge that one of her opponents, Johnson, is also Black. Despite her loss, she called her time serving as the mayor of Chicago "the honor of a lifetime."
Lightfoot's Tuesday comments reflect her previous view that someone from her background would need help succeeding in an electoral setting. During an interview, the Democrat said that certain folks would not support her in leadership roles due to being a Black woman, as per Yahoo News.
She said that the same forces that opposed Harold Washington's success were still here now, and we're still targeting Black people. Lightfoot's comments come as she is the first Black woman and openly gay person to lead the third-largest city in the United States.
For some time, Lightfoot faced heavy criticism for the rampant crime in the city and her attempts to demonize the police following high-profile issues of law enforcement brutality. Despite initially backing a budget cut for the city's police, she has since pivoted and changed her stance to shore up support for the election.
Since Lightfoot was elected in 2019, where she promised to bring down crime rates, violent crime in Chicago has increased by roughly 40%. This was a factor in her loss against Vallas, who was the choice for the Fraternal Order of the Police, which wanted a tough-on-crime candidate.
Chicago's Rising Crime Rate
Despite the Democrat's claims, her critics argued that she lost the election due to her failure to address several issues, including rampant crime, homelessness, and her poor relationship with police, according to Fox News.
With Lightfoot's loss, Chicago Public Schools CEO and city budget director Vallas will head into a runoff on April 4, against Cook County Board of Commissioners member Johnson. Both candidates secured the necessary 50% of the vote to win the election in Chicago outright.
Many of the Black woman's critics took to Twitter in an apparent celebration of her loss in the elections. Jonathan Turley, a criminal defense attorney, said there is still hope for Chicago following Lightfoot's election loss. He argued that it had been the "greatest potential improvement" for the city since 1900.
Following her loss, Lightfoot said she would be rooting and praying for the candidate who will become the next mayor of Chicago to deliver good governance for the city's people in the coming years. In a statement, she said that she stood with her head held high and gratitude filling her heart, said the New York Times.
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