Despite polls showing moderate Paul Vallas with a slight but steady lead over progressive Brandon Johnson in the Chicago mayoral runoff, Johnson pulled off a victory with 51.42% of the vote after 99% of precincts were counted. 

Johnson ran on comprehensive reforms in all areas, improvements to mental health, affordable housing, and education, while Vallas wanted fiscal responsibility and to bolster police.

Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) both endorsed Johnson, giving him a national platform that Vallas lacked.

Johnson will be the fourth Black mayor of Chicago and will take over for Lori Lightfoot, the city's first Black female mayor and also the first openly gay person to be mayor. Lightfoot was criticized for trying to cut police budgets and for ineffectiveness in combatting the city's high number of shootings and murders.

More Democrat control

Her answer was "criminal justice reform" and gun control, but neither one has worked. Voters noticed, and she became the first mayor of Chicago in 40 years not to gain re-election.

Chicago has been under Democrat control for more than 50 years, despite the failures of many of its leaders to run it well.

Police officers and police unions have already criticized Johnson's intended policies and overwhelmingly backed Vallas in the race, so it may be a challenge for Johnson to work with them to better the city.

Johnson was a former union organizer and teacher, so he may have better luck working with teacher's unions and other unions in the city.

Vallas was the former CEO of Chicago schools, but the Cook County Teacher's Union still endorsed Johnson in the race.

Early voting strong

More than half of the 555,000 votes in the election, or 292,591 votes, were cast before election day as part of early voting, which is very easy to do in the state since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Voter fraud has long been rumored in the city and in Cook County, but no evidence has surfaced so far in this election.

Some of the policies intended to allow as much access to voting as possible like early voting, ballot harvesting, and provisional ballots can also encourage or allow fraudulent voting to take place.

Opposition to voter ID is another progressive policy they claim is necessary for equal voter access, even though it would prevent most voter fraud.

Progressives have been pushing the same kinds of voting rules nationwide, but conservatives have stood in the way of implementing these rules nationally.