For Undecided Voters, Personal Conversations Could Mean More Than Campaign Rhetoric
CHICAGO (CBS) -- With the clock winding down on the race for mayor, plenty of voters still haven't made up their mind, in a race that shows Mayor Rahm Emanuel right at the edge of avoiding a head-to-head runoff with Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia.
Recent polls show Emanuel just shy of the majority vote he would need to win outright on Tuesday, in a contest against four challengers, with 18 percent of registered voters still undecided in at least one recent poll.
After all the political debates and campaign ads, for some people it comes down to personal conversations in deciding how to cast their ballot.
While Emanuel has held a commanding lead against his closest rival, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, that could disappear if things go the way one conversation did Sunday, between two friends in Chinatown.
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One woman, a Garcia supporter, said she thinks he'll do more to help the neighborhoods.
"He's interested in uplifting the neighborhoods," she said. "There's a lot of gentrification going on, especially in the area where I'm at, and I feel like gentrification is meant to uplift, not uproot."
She said neighborhoods aren't getting enough attention, compared to downtown.
"Downtown's gorgeous and everything, but we've been here longer than that, so the residents – the longtime residents – deserve to have a just as nice neighborhood as downtown," she said.
After listening, her friend said she's rethinking her plan to vote for Emanuel
"You know, I voted for him last time. I was just going to vote for him this time," she said. "Now that I've been listening to Marissa here, I think you may have changed my mind. That was really good."
Both women, who were watching Emanuel and Garcia march in the Chinese Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown, said they support the idea of a runoff in April.
