2023 Chicago election likely to be only round one in crowded mayor's race

Chicago voters are casting their ballots in a crowded mayor's race, a contest that's all but certain to end with a runoff election in April.

If no candidate gets a majority of the vote in the race, the top two candidates would face off in a runoff election on April 4. Nine candidates are running in the February vote this year. 

In 2019, incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle emerged from a record field of 14 in the primary.  Lightfoot won the runoff easily. Going into that first vote, polls showed no candidate with more than 14 percent support.

In 2015, Rahm Emanuel was forced into a runoff with Jesus "Chuy" Garcia and won his second term in April of that year. 

Runoffs also apply to aldermanic races.  In 2011, a total of 14 aldermanic races went the the runoff phase. In the last election, 15 aldermanic races were sent into an April runoff.  In 2015, 18 city council races were forced into a runoff.