Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) endorsed Paul Vallas in the heated contest for Chicago mayor in a boost for the moderate Democrat.
Durbin’s endorsement loomed large over the battle between Vallas, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, and his more progressive rival, Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson. In a statement, Durbin lauded Vallas and focused underscored his bid to improve schools and public safety.
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“He is a thoughtful leader who can strengthen Chicago’s economy and create jobs. He will be a mayor for all of Chicago and will move the city forward,” Durbin wrote in a news release. “With his focus on safer neighborhoods, improved schools, and economic growth, I am proud to stand with Paul, and urge all Chicagoans to support his election on April 4.”
Vallas has earned endorsements from groups such as the Fraternal Order of Police, pro-police city council members, and more. He has cast himself as the law and order candidate and taken more moderate positions on a host of issues.
Polls have pegged the race to be neck-and-neck but largely appear to show Vallas with a slight edge over Johnson, who has earned the backing of progressive stars such as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Both are squaring off in the April 4 runoff after no candidate gained an outright majority in the Feb. 28 election.
Durbin, one of the most prominent politicians in Illinois, sat out of the first round in the mayor’s race. He also declined to endorse in the 2019 contest that was won by current Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who lost her reelection bid in the first round last month, rendering her the first incumbent to lose since 1989.
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Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), the other senator from the Land of Lincoln, has not endorsed a candidate. Meanwhile, Illinois Reps. Jonathan Jackson, Delia Ramirez, Danny Davis, and Jan Schakowsky have all thrown their weight behind Johnson.
Lightfoot’s defeat last month sparked national attention and sparked a renewed push by some Democrats to combat crime ahead of the 2024 elections.
