Chicago Decides: What do Paul Vallas, Brandon Johnson each need to do to win mayoral runoff?
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A field of nine candidates for mayor has now been whittled down to two.
Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson took first and second place, respectively, in the mayoral race Tuesday. They will face off in the runoff election next month.
So what does each candidate need to do to win? CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov set out Wednesday to answer that question.
Vallas topped the nine-candidate field Tuesday night with 34 percent of the vote, and Johnson took second place with 20 percent. In all, Vallas got nearly 70,000 more votes than Johnson.
But in a head-to-head battle, it is a whole new race.
"I'm really energized. I'm ready to go," Vallas said outside the Thompson Center Wednesday. "We've got five weeks."
Vallas says he does not plan to rest much more for the April 4 runoff.
Johnson said he is ready to hit the campaign trail again too.
But just how did they become finalists? A map of voting patterns created by the CBS 2 Investigators sheds some light.
Vallas won the magenta areas – namely two big chunks. One is on the Northwest Side, while the other stretches from the Near North Side through downtown Chicago to the Near South Side – stretching to Vallas' own apartment in Bridgeport.
Vallas also prevailed in much of West Rogers Park, and parts of the Southwest Side including Garfield Ridge, Clearing, parts of Ashburn, Mount Greenwood.
The pink areas on the map - including more of the Southwest Side and parts of the West and Southeast sides - also lean toward Vallas in the runoff.
"Obviously, I was delighted with the results yesterday. It really kind of validated my approach that I've taken during this campaign, and really even before this campaign started," Vallas said, "and that's been to talk about the issues."
Johnson, though, dominated on the North Side. While Vallas prevailed in Lincoln Park and most of Lakeview, Johnson prevailed in most of Uptown and much of Edgewater and Rogers Park. Johnson also prevailed in some West and Northwest Side communities – including Albany Park, Logan Square, and Humboldt Park – and on the South Side, Hyde Park.
Huge additional parts of the South and West sides also lean toward Johnson.
"I'm very, very much humbled and grateful that the city of Chicago believes my leadership can bring a better, stronger, safer Chicago," Johnson said.
Political Analyst Stephen Caliendo said Johnson has a strong advantage with one specific voting bloc.
"I think the young vote is going to come out disproportionately for Brandon Johnson in a two-person race here," he said.
But Caliendo said that only applies of young people come out to vote.
Kozlov asked Caliendo what Vallas and Johnson each need to do to win. Will both candidates need to move a little to the center?
"I think Paul Vallas will try to do that," Caliendo said. "I would be very surprised to see Brandon Johnson move."
Vallas won 19 wards in the city, while Johnson won nine.
When it came down to breakdown by ward, Vallas dominated in 11 wards – meaning he got at least 50 percent of the vote in each. Johnson did not do that in any wards.
But it is the total number of votes that matters.
Caliendo explained what he sees as part of Vallas' runoff strategy.
"My guess is that they probably will double down on primarily white areas, and they will probably try to make inroads in the Latino areas," Caliendo said.
The two candidates differ in particular on public safety. Vallas is considered a pro-police, law-and-order candidate, while Johnson believes safety does not mean spending more money on police officers.
But the two candidates do not just differ on public safety. They have a lot of differences when it comes to other issues as well – including how to pay for city services.
On Wednesday, both Vallas and Johnson were quick to point out they want to be the mayor for all of Chicago.
Vallas spent time in the Loop Wednesday afternoon – meeting with voters and thanking them, and asking for their vote in five weeks.
Johnson had what his camp is calling a reset day – but he took some time to talk with us by Zoom Wednesday morning.
Now, behind the scenes, both camps are likely mapping out their voter outreach strategy for the runoff.
Publicly, though, their message is similar.
"My coalition is the entire city. I'm running for mayor for the entire city – period. I'm running for mayor to make this city work for everybody in the city," Vallas said. "So at the end of the day, I think I'm going to do well. I plan on doing well in every ward."
"Look, I'm going to move all around the city of Chicago to bring our message of hope – and campaign off of the dreams and hopes of the desires of the people of Chicago," said Johnson.
While Vallas got 34 percent of the vote and Johnson got 20 percent, 46 percent went to the other seven candidates and is now up for grabs.
So there are definitely enough votes in play for either candidate to win.
