State comptroller stays in Mendoza’s hands
Democrat Susana Mendoza breezed to re-election as state comptroller Tuesday, declaring victory over her Republican challenger, Darlene Senger.
Mendoza took the stage at Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker's election night party after her spokesman said Senger called her to concede.
“Thank you for re-electing me,” Mendoza said in a speech to a crowd at the Marriott Marquis hotel near McCormick Place.
“I'm truly honored to be a part of this great dream team,” Mendoza said of being on a winning Democratic ticket that included Pritzker, who defeated first-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
It remains to be seen, however, whether she stays on the team. With the win, Mendoza simultaneously started the clock on further speculation over whether she will jump into the campaign for Chicago mayor.
While Mendoza was facing a challenge from Senger and Libertarian Claire Ball, much of the attention on the race had focused on what she'll do next.
As soon as Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced in early September that he wouldn't seek a third term, Mendoza's name surfaced on the short list of highprofile candidates who might vie to succeed him. She has since said she was concentrating on getting elected to a first full term as comptroller, while not ruling out a run for mayor.
Last Friday, a seven-second snippet of a possible “Mendoza for Mayor” ad got leaked to the media in which she says, “I'm Susana Mendoza, and I'm running for mayor of Chicago, and I ask you to join me on this journey together.”
Mendoza responded in a statement that she was focusing on the comptroller race. “I'm considering a run for another office and have taken steps to prepare for that should I choose to move forward, but I have not made any formal decisions,” she said.
That came after Senger — a former Illinois House member from Naperville — pressured Mendoza during a Sept. 18 appearance before the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board to pledge to serve the full four-year term if elected.
“I would like to see a commitment that on Nov. 7 if you're elected you're going to be there for four years, and you're kind of hedging it,” Senger said.
“I'm not hedging on anything,” Mendoza replied. “I'm very committed to be comptroller.”
But she did not rule out a mayoral run.
Then, on a WTTW candidate forum in late October, Mendoza said she would serve a full term — if Rauner got re-elected.
If Mendoza won re-election then got elected mayor, the governor would get to pick her replacement as comptroller.
If Mendoza decides to run for mayor, she has until Nov. 26 to get 12,500 signatures to get on the Feb. 26 municipal ballot. Mendoza backers have been circulating the petitions for weeks, giving her a head start on the effort.