Congressman Jesus "Chuy" Garcia to launch campaign for mayor on Thursday, sources say
CHICAGO (CBS) -- U.S. Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, expected to sail to victory in his bid for a third term in Congress, plans to jump into the race for mayor of Chicago later this week.
High-placed sources confirm Garcia will formally launch his campaign for mayor on Thursday. Garcia also ran for mayor in 2015, when he forced then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel into the city's first mayoral runoff election, but lost 56% to 44%.
CBS News had not declared a winner for the race as of 9 p.m. But as presumed winner for another term, Garcia gave a speech at his Little Village campaign party headquarters calling on his supporters to fight for struggling and marginalized and people.
The election has not been called, but as of 8:40 p.m. Tuesday, Garcia had 69% of the vote for his congressional seat – compared with 28% for Republican James Falakos and 3% for Working Class Party candidate Edward Hershey.
The U-shaped district includes large parts of Chicago's Northwest and Southwest sides, as well as suburban communities stretch from Melrose Park to Berkeley, Hillside, and Cicero.
"I will now be serving my third term in Congress," Garcia said.
During his speech night, Garcia acknowledged the victory of some down-ballot candidates – including Metropolitan Water Reclamation District candidate Dan "Pogo" Pogorzelski. He also pledged to stand up for organized labor, and to protect the rights of women and their reproductive health. He also called for "protecting and improving safety in our neighborhoods and fighting for equity in all our lives."
Garcia has been flirting with a second mayoral bid for months, but has so far been noncommittal as he runs for re-election to Congress. He has said he's reluctant to leave Congress given the growing number of Republican candidates for Congress who have supported former President Donald Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, and have even taken actions to try to overturn the 2020 election results.
Garcia said he also loves his job as congressman, calling it "exhilarating" to be involved in everything from foreign policy to the national economy, and in particular immigration reform.
According to published reports, Garcia recently commissioned a poll that showed he would beat Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a head-to-head race, with 43% to Lightfoot's 34%, and 23% undecided.
The field in the race for mayor includes at least nine other candidates, including Lightfoot, Ald. Sophia King (4th), Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th), Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), businessman Willie Wilson, former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, Illinois State Rep. Kam Buckner, community activist Ja'Mal Green, and Chicago police officer Frederick Collins.
Garcia's campaign announcement is timed for the 40-year anniversary of former Mayor Harold Washington's campaign announcement.
Garcia was a Chicago alderman from 1986 until 1993, and was a key ally of Washington's during the infamous "Council War," when former Ald. Edward Vrdolyak led a bloc of mostly white aldermen to consistently thwart the agenda of the city's first Black mayor, and control the City Council.
In 1992, Garcia was elected to the Illinois State Senate, where he served until 1999, after losing the 1998 Democratic primary to Antonio Munoz.
In 2011, Garcia was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners, where continued to serve until 2018, when he was elected to Congress.
In his 2015 bid for mayor, Garcia was backed by the influential Chicago Teachers Union, but this time around the union has thrown its support behind Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, a former Chicago Public Schools teacher and CTU organizer.
Garcia likely can still garner the support of other progressive labor unions and elected officials as the mayoral election begins to ramp up later this month.
If Garcia wins the race for mayor, he'd have to give up his seat in Congress, and a special election would have to be held to fill the vacancy in the 4th District in Illinois.
