Brandon Johnson, a progressive Democrat, prevailed over his more moderate challenger to become Chicago's next mayor — and may have pointed a way forward for the party on the fraught issue of crime.
Brandon Johnson celebrates with supporters in Chicago after winning the mayoral election on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.
“He may not call that law enforcement activity, but it will be part of the law enforcement system,” said Rep. Danny K. Davis, a longtime House Democrat from Chicago who backed Johnson.Johnson’s victory may be a lesson for other Democrats struggling with the issue under the verbal assault of Republicans. Rep. Delia Ramirez, a newly elected progressive Democrat from Chicago’s Northwest Side, was ecstatic.
“When people are afraid, they will flock to what they perceive as strength,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., who took part in an internet ad for Johnson that criticized Vallas for his stewardship of the Philadelphia school system. “As Bill Clinton once said, people will choose strong and wrong over weak and right. We as Democrats need to have a message on crime that meets this moment.”Boyle cautioned against reading too much into the outcome.
“Brandon is representative of today’s Chicago — it’s progressive, it leans younger,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat whose north lakeshore district was the core of Johnson’s support. “This should give heart to people who want to run progressive campaigns around the country, and it should give inspiration to people who believe in diversity, who believe in individual participation in elections.
“It was a lot harder to attack him on the issue of policing,” Wolfson said of Adams. “Vallas, given his own biography, was easier to attack.”
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