Emanuel faces runoff in Chicago mayor race

Challenger expects to upset incumbent; vote set for April.

CHICAGO — If Jesus “Chuy” Garcia is going to have a shot at upsetting Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in an April runoff, he’ll need to solidify a coalition of minorities, union members and progressives reminiscent of one that buoyed his mentor, Harold Washington, the city’s first black mayor.

Emanuel enjoys big advantages in money and experience, having raised millions more than Garcia, a Cook County commissioner who jumped into the race just three months ago.

The ex-congressman and White House chief of staff also has the backing of his former boss, President Barack Obama, who recorded ads for Emanuel and stumped for him during a stop in Chicago last week.

But a beaming Garcia remained optimistic Wednesday, a day after voters denied Emanuel an easy second term. He said the election was a message from working people who believe Emanuel puts the interests of business and the wealthy before them.

“It’s very clear there’s something going on in Chicago that says that we need to go in a different direction,” said Garcia, who spent the morning thanking voters at a downtown commuter train stop and doing a flurry of interviews from the campaign office.

One countertop displayed a caricature of Garcia in a Superman costume and the caption, “Si se puede.” The expression is used by pro-labor and immigrant rights groups, and an English translation, “Yes we can,” was the slogan of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Garcia, born in Mexico and largely raised in Chicago, billed himself as the “neighborhood guy.”

While the city’s minority populations have grown and changed, Garcia’s approach drew comparisons to Washington’s campaign three decades ago, which relied on coalescing black and Latino support. The difference now is that voters are more willing to cross racial boundaries to support a candidate.

“There is a much more diverse multicultural youth base ... this is what their life experience is,” said Sylvia Puente, executive director of the Latino Policy Forum. “They resonate with the candidate.”

Emanuel needed to win a majority of the vote in the five-candidate field to avoid an April 7 runoff, but fell far short, getting only about 45 percent.

His support was strongest in the city’s downtown and on its North Side, home to some of Chicago’s more affluent neighborhoods. Garcia, the second-highest vote-getter with about 34 percent, did well on the West Side, particularly in heavily Hispanic areas.

The mayor lost support in the city’s largely African-American wards on the South Side, compared with his first election in 2011. He headed there first thing Wednesday morning, shaking hands with commuters at a train station.

Emanuel said the spring runoff will be about which candidate has the “plans and the perseverance” to make progress in the city.

“It’s no longer a multiple choice,” he said. “It’s a clear choice between two different visions of the future and how to get there.”

AP Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former chief of staff under President Barack Obama, is seeking his second term.

AP Chicago mayoral candidate Jesus “Chuy” Garcia is a Cook County commissioner who jumped into the race only three months ago.