Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has been elected mayor Chicago. Mr. Emanuel captured over fifty percent of the vote, avoiding a run off election. Unofficial election results have the Chicago Democrat winning, with the Associated Press and Politico projecting him the winner.
It was the city’s first mayoral race in more than 60 years without an incumbent on the ballot and the first in more than two decades without Daley among the candidates. Daley and his father have led Chicago for more than 43 out of the last 56 years.
Emanuel called the victory “humbling” and thanked Daley for his lifetime of service, saying the outgoing mayor had “earned a special place in our hearts and our history.”
But he added: “We have not won anything until a kid can go to school thinking of their studies and not their safety. Until the parent of that child is thinking about their work and not where they are going to find work, we have not won anything.”