2015 Chicago mayoral election

An election took place on February 24, 2015, to elect the mayor of Chicago. The election was non-partisan and no candidate received a majority. A runoff election was held between the top two finishers (both Democrats) on April 7, 2015, and resulted in the reelection of incumbent mayor Rahm Emanuel.^[5] The elections were concurrent with the 2015 Chicago aldermanic elections.

2015 Chicago mayoral election

← 2011 February 24 and April 7, 2015 2019 →
Turnout	33.65%[1][2] 8.34 pp (first round) 40.98%[3][4] 7.07 pp (second round)
Nominee Rahm Emanuel Chuy García First round 218,217 45.63% 160,414 33.55% Runoff 332,171 56.23% 258,562 43.77%   Nominee Willie Wilson Bob Fioretti First round 50,960 10.66% 35,363 7.39% Runoff Eliminated Eliminated
Runoff map by precinct Runoff map by ward Emanuel:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% García:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      50%
Mayor before election Rahm Emanuel Elected Mayor Rahm Emanuel

Emanuel ran for reelection, seeking a second term in office. In the first round, Emanuel received 46% of the vote and Democratic Cook County Commissioner Jesús "Chuy" García received 34%. Because no candidate received a majority, a runoff was held. In the runoff, Emanuel received 56.23% of the vote, winning the election. Garcia received 43.77% of the vote.^[6] 2015 was the first time the election advanced to a runoff since mayoral elections became non-partisan in 1999.

Candidates

Ran

• Rahm Emanuel, incumbent mayor^[7][8][9]
• Bob Fioretti, Chicago City Alderman^[7][10]
• Jesús "Chuy" García, Cook County Commissioner and former state senator^[7][11]
• William "Dock" Walls, community activist, businessman, former aide to Mayor Harold Washington and perennial candidate^[7][12]
• Willie Wilson, medical supply company executive^[7][13]

Write-in candidates

• William H. Calloway^[2]
• Christopher Ware^[2]
• Mary Vann^[2]

Withdrew

• Frederick Collins, Chicago police officer^[7][14][15]
• Amara Enyia, urban affairs consultant and community activist^[7][16][17]
• William J. Kelly, political activist, columnist and Republican candidate for Illinois Comptroller in 2010 and 2014^[18][19]
• Gerald Sconyers^[7][15]
• Robert Shaw, former Chicago City Alderman and former commissioner of the Cook County Board of Review^{[7][20][21][22]}

Removed

• Fenton Patterson, perennial candidate^[7][15]

Declined

• Leslie Hairston, Chicago City Alderman^[23][24]
• Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union^[25]
• Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners^[23][26]
• Kwame Raoul, state senator^[27]
• Scott Waguespack, Chicago city alderman^[28]

General election

Endorsements

Rahm Emanuel

Officeholders

• Gery Chico, Chair of the Illinois State Board of Education and former president of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners, candidate for mayor in 2011^[29]
• Richard M. Daley, former mayor of Chicago^[30]
• Barack Obama, President of the United States^[31][32]

Media

• The Chicago Defender^[33][34]
• Chicago Sun-Times^[33]
• Chicago Tribune^[33]
• Crain's Chicago Business^[35]

Organizations

• Planned Parenthood Illinois Action^[31]

Robert Fioretti

Individuals

• Mike Ditka, former coach of the Chicago Bears^[36]
• Amara Enyia, previously a candidate for mayor^[31]

Organizations

• Chicago Police Sergeants Association^[31]
• Green Party of Chicago^[31]
• Progressive Caucus of the Chicago City Council^[31]

Jesús "Chuy" García

Officeholders

• Miguel del Valle, former City Clerk of Chicago, former Illinois state senator, 2011 mayoral candidate^[37]
• David Orr, Cook County Clerk and former acting mayor of Chicago^[38]
• Bobbie L. Steele, former president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners^[39][40]

Individuals

• Karen Lewis, President of the Chicago Teachers Union^[33]

Media

• The Gazette^[41]

Organizations

• Chicago Teachers Union^[33]
• Independent Voters of Illinois Independent Precinct Organization^[31]
• Progressive Action Project^[31]
• United Working Families^[31]

William "Dock" Walls

Media

• Illinois Herald^[31]

Willie Wilson

Politicians

• Danny K. Davis, US congressman and candidate for mayor of Chicago in 1999 and 2011^[31]
• Robert Shaw, former Chicago City Alderman and former commissioner of the Cook County Board of Review, previously a candidate for mayor^[31]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rahm Emanuel	Robert Fioretti	Jesús García	William Walls	Willie Wilson	Other	Undecided
Ogden & Fry[42]	February 22, 2015	737	± 3.68%	48.3%	6.8%	26.5%	3.3%	15.2%	—	—
APC Research[43]	February ? 2015	709	± 3.7%	45%	7%	20%	2%	7%	—	18%
Ogden & Fry[44]	February 14, 2015	736	± 3.69%	49.2%	8.6%	23.0%	4.9%	14.4%	—	—
Ogden & Fry[45]	January 31, 2015	884	± 3.36%	41.7%	6.7%	16.6%	1.7%	9.7%	—	23.5%
APC Research[46]	January 22–27, 2015	708	± 3.7%	42%	10%	18%	2%	7%	—	20%
Ogden & Fry[47]	January 24, 2015	950	± 3.24%	39.5%	7.5%	18%	1.8%	11.1%	—	22.2%
Lake Research Partners[48]	January 15–19, 2015	600	± 4%	38%	8%	16%	1%	5%	—	30%
Ogden & Fry[47]	January 17, 2015	1,010	± 3.15%	38%	6.7%	16.4%	1.5%	10.6%	—	26.7%
GQR*[49]	January 3–6, 2015	600	± 4%	50%	10%	22%	2%	7%	—	9%
GQR*[49]	December 2014	600	± 4%	48%	13%	21%	—	—	18%
David Binder Research[50]	November 23–25, 2014	800	± 3.5%	44%	15%	16%	—	—	7%	18%
Lake Research Partners[51]	November 2014	621	± 3.9%	33%	13%	18%	—	—	—	36%

• * Internal poll for the Rahm Emanuel campaign

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rahm Emanuel	Robert Fioretti	Karen Lewis	Toni Preckwinkle	Robert Shaw	Undecided
McKeon[52]	May 7, 2014	511	± 4.2%	29%	5%	10%	26%	3%	27%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rahm Emanuel	Karen Lewis	"Qualified Republican"	Undecided
Ogden & Fry[53]	August 9, 2014	1,152	±2.9%	33.9%	20.6%	14.3%	31.3%

Results

Chicago mayoral election, 2015^[2][54]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Rahm Emanuel (incumbent)	218,217	45.63%
	Nonpartisan	Jesús "Chuy" García	160,414	33.55%
	Nonpartisan	Willie Wilson	50,960	10.66%
	Nonpartisan	Robert W. "Bob" Fioretti	35,363	7.39%
	Nonpartisan	William "Dock" Walls, III	13,250	2.77%
	Write-in	Christopher Ware	40	0.01%
	Write-in	William H. Calloway	9	0.00%
	Write-in	Mary Vann	3	0.00%
Total votes			478,256	100.00%

Results by ward

• 
  Support for Wilson by ward:

    >30%

    25–30%

    20–25%

    15–20%

    10–15%

    5–10%

    0–5%
• 
  Support for Fioretti by ward:

    >15%

    12–15%

    9–12%

    6–9%

    3–6%

    0–3%
• 
  Support for Walls by ward:

    >7%

    6–7%

    5–6%

    4–5%

    3–4%

    2–3%

    1–2%

    0–1%

^[1]

  Emanuel

  García

Ward	Emanuel votes	Emanuel %	Wilson votes	Wilson %	Fioretti votes	Fioretti %	García votes	García %	Walls votes	Walls %	Total votes	Turnout
1st	3,349	39.60%	260	3.07%	618	7.31%	4,128	48.81%	103	1.22%	8,458	28.93%
2nd	6,727	64.47%	331	3.17%	863	8.27%	2,428	23.27%	85	0.81%	10,434	32.17%
3rd	5,223	49.07%	1,768	16.61%	954	8.96%	2,211	20.77%	489	4.59%	10,645	33.12%
4th	5,329	44.56%	1,703	14.24%	942	7.88%	3,396	28.40%	588	4.92%	11,958	39.01%
5th	5,088	44.00%	1,494	12.92%	533	4.61%	3,890	33.64%	588	4.83%	11,563	39.44%
6th	4,703	42.63%	2,569	23.28%	519	4.70%	2,525	22.89%	717	6.50%	11,033	32.78%
7th	4,690	43.76%	2,294	21.40%	439	4.10%	2,595	24.21%	700	6.53%	10,718	33.07%
8th	5,938	43.39%	2,987	21.83%	569	4.16%	3,289	24.03%	903	6.60%	13,686	36.50%
9th	5,186	43.30%	2,873	23.99%	517	4.32%	2,625	21.92%	777	6.49%	11,978	32.86%
10th	3,586	37.74%	482	5.07%	816	8.59%	4,501	47.37%	116	1.22%	9,501	37.15%
11th	4,711	48.93%	253	2.63%	1,440	14.95%	3,140	32.61%	85	0.88%	9,629	37.81%
12th	1,284	25.70%	96	1.92%	241	4.82%	3,335	66.74%	41	0.82%	4,997	27.87%
13th	5,822	52.04%	210	1.88%	1,021	9.13%	4,067	36.35%	67	0.60%	11,187	46.75%
14th	2,293	37.99%	107	1.77%	448	7.42%	3,151	52.20%	37	0.61%	6,036	33.87%
15th	1,403	30.02%	599	12.82%	156	3.34%	2,394	51.23%	121	2.59%	4,673	25.63%
16th	2,451	39.88%	1,641	26.70%	211	3.43%	1,552	25.25%	291	4.73%	6,146	23.57%
17th	3,499	40.08%	2,313	26.50%	323	3.70%	2,092	23.97%	502	5.75%	8,729	28.53%
18th	4,794	38.99%	2,043	16.62%	800	6.51%	3,988	32.44%	669	5.44%	12,294	38.68%
19th	7,613	41.95%	1,139	6.28%	2,503	13.79%	6,509	35.87%	383	2.11%	18,147	51.83%
20th	2,808	40.59%	1,693	24.47%	231	3.34%	1,798	25.99%	388	5.61%	6,918	26.96%
21st	5,698	42.56%	3,249	24.27%	533	3.98%	2,973	22.20%	936	6.99%	13,389	35.01%
22nd	1,127	21.18%	279	5.24%	137	2.57%	3,711	69.73%	68	1.28%	5,322	28.15%
23rd	3,868	40.19%	232	2.41%	1308	13.59%	4,165	43.27%	52	0.54%	9,625	42.97%
24th	2,653	36.50%	2,209	30.39%	324	4.46%	1,701	23.40%	381	5.24%	7,268	27.07%
25th	2,586	33.40%	263	3.40%	497	6.42%	4,331	55.94%	65	0.84%	7,742	30.73%
26th	2,331	34.33%	359	5.29%	348	5.13%	3,665	53.98%	87	1.28%	6,790	27.48%
27th	4,291	48.61%	1,640	18.58%	695	7.87%	1,911	21.65%	290	3.29%	8,827	27.51%
28th	3,084	39.92%	2,043	26.45%	596	7.72%	1,682	21.77%	320	4.14%	7,725	23.84%
29th	4,662	41.99%	2,460	22.16%	723	6.51%	2,748	24.75%	510	4.59%	11,103	32.17%
30th	2,018	39.60%	149	2.92%	391	7.67%	2,489	48.84%	49	0.96%	5,096	23.88%
31st	2,381	40.61%	141	2.40%	291	4.96%	2,996	51.10%	54	0.92%	5,863	27.36%
32nd	4,111	47.61%	188	2.18%	712	8.25%	3,559	41.22%	64	0.74%	8,634	28.34%
33rd	3,332	40.02%	272	3.27%	532	6.39%	4,084	49.06%	105	1.26%	8,325	36.34%
34th	5,722	45.46%	3,127	24.85%	413	3.28%	2,581	20.51%	743	5.90%	12,586	32.72%
35th	2,110	40.02%	188	3.00%	336	5.36%	3,580	57.06%	60	0.96%	6,274	28.72%
36th	2,380	39.31%	281	4.64%	611	10.09%	2,731	45.10%	52	0.86%	6,055	28.44%
37th	3,465	41.38%	2,372	28.33%	373	4.45%	1,754	20.95%	409	4.88%	12,586	40.16%
38th	5,408	48.09%	315	2.80%	1,705	15.16%	3,723	33.11%	95	0.84%	11,246	38.00%
39th	5,499	48.48%	355	3.13%	1,187	10.47%	4,202	37.05%	99	0.87%	11,342	38.93%
40th	4,634	47.26%	300	3.06%	636	6.49%	4136	42.18%	99	1.01%	9,805	35.27%
41st	7,153	47.80%	451	3.01%	2,644	17.67%	4,605	30.77%	112	0.75%	14,965	43.58%
42nd	6,558	73.52%	262	2.94%	548	6.14%	1,476	16.55%	76	0.85%	8,920	28.49%
43rd	7,608	71.97%	283	2.68%	665	6.29%	1,938	18.33%	77	0.73%	10,571	34.94%
44th	6,055	64.25%	211	2.24%	554	554%	2,543	26.98%	61	0.65%	9,424	31.62%
45th	6,243	48.06%	406	3.13%	1,682	12.95%	4,545	34.99%	115	0.89%	12,991	41.65%
46th	6,079	57.55%	520	4.92%	518	4.90%	3,316	31.39%	130	1.23%	10,563	36.84%
47th	6,427	51.47%	267	2.14	721	5.77%	4,985	39.92%	88	0.70%	12,488	37.59%
48th	5,906	52.33%	450	3.99%	560	4.96%	4,220	37.39%	150	1.33%	11,286	37.89%
49th	3,941	44.10%	492	5.51%	431	4.82%	3,893	43.57%	179	2.00%	8,936	35.60%
50th	4,390	55.29%	341	4.29%	548	6.90%	2,557	32.20%	104	1.31%	7,940	31.87%

Runoff

Endorsements

Rahm Emanuel

Officeholders

• Gery Chico, Chair of the Illinois State Board of Education and former president of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners, candidate for mayor in 2011^[29]
• Richard M. Daley, former mayor of Chicago^[30]
• Dick Durbin, U.S. senator^[55]
• James Meeks, state senator and candidate for mayor in 2011^[56]
• Barack Obama, President of the United States^[32]
• Bobby Rush, U.S. representative^[57]
• Luis Gutierrez, U.S. reperesentative^[58]

Organizations

• Planned Parenthood Illinois Action^[31]
• Sierra Club^[59]

Media

• The Chicago Defender^[60]
• Chicago Sun-Times^[61]
• Chicago Tribune^[62]
• Crain's Chicago Business^[63]

Jesús "Chuy" García

Officeholders

• Bernie Sanders, United States senator from Vermont ^[64]
• Luis Arroyo Jr., Cook County commissioner^[65]
• Richard Boykin, Cook County Commissioner^[65]
• Danny K. Davis, U.S. representative, candidate for mayor in 1991 and 2011^[66]
• Howard Dean, former governor of Vermont, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and candidate for President in 2004^[67]
• Miguel del Valle, former City Clerk of Chicago, former Illinois state senator, 2011 mayoral candidate^[37]
• Jesse Jackson, former shadow senator from the District of Columbia, minister, and civil rights activist^[68]
• Emil Jones, former president of the Illinois Senate^[69]
• Stanley Moore, Cook County commissioner^[65]
• Ricardo Muñoz, Chicago city alderman^[70]
• David Orr, Cook County clerk and former acting mayor of Chicago^[38]
• Bobbie L. Steele, former president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners^[39]
• Robert Steele, Cook County commissioner^[65]
• Scott Waguespack, Chicago city alderman^[70]

Individuals

• Troy LaRaviere, educator^[39]
• Karen Lewis, President of the Chicago Teachers Union^[71]
• David Moore, Chicago City Alderman-elect^[72]
• Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Chicago City Alderman-elect^[72]
• Diane Ravitch, education historian, educational policy analyst, and former Assistant United States Secretary of Education^[73]
• Willie Wilson, businessman, philanthropist, 2015 candidate for Mayor of Chicago.^[74]

Media

• Chicago Jewish Star^[75]
• The Gazette^[76]

Organizations

• Chicago Teachers Union^[33]
• Independent Voters of Illinois Independent Precinct Organization^[31]
• Progressive Action Project^[31]
• SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana^[77]
• SEIU Local 1^[77]
• Teamsters Local 743^[78]
• United Working Families^[31]

Declined to endorse

Individuals

• Toni Preckwinkle, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners^[79]

Organizations

• SEIU Local 73^[77]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rahm Emanuel	Jesús García	Undecided
Ogden & Fry[80]	March 21, 2015	951	± 3.24%	48.5%	32.1%	18.4%
We Ask America[81]	March 16, 2015	1,374	± 3%	51%	36%	12%
Ogden & Fry[82]	March 15, 2015	920	± 3.3%	55%	45%	0%
APC Research Inc.[83]	March 13, 2015	712	± 3.7%	51%	37%	11%
Ogden & Fry[84]	March 7, 2015	1,020	± 3.13%	43.5%	38%	18%
We Ask America[85]	February 28, 2015	1,138	± 2.9%	49%	38%	14%
Ogden & Fry[86]	February 28, 2015	979	± 3.2%	42.9%	38.5%	18.6%
Ogden & Fry[86]	February 25, 2015	1,058	± 3.07%	42.7%	38.7%	18.6%
GSG[87]	February 25, 2015	2,659	± 1.9%	50.4%	39.8%	9.8%
Ogden & Fry[47]	January 24, 2015	950	± 3.24%	54.9%	45.1%	—
Lake Research Partners[48]	January 15–19, 2015	600	± 4%	44%	28%	27%
David Binder Research[88]	November 23–25, 2014	800	± 3.5%	49%	37%	14%
Lake Research Partners[89]	November 2014	621	± 3.9%	36%	31%	23%

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rahm Emanuel	Karen Lewis	Undecided
APC Research[90]	August 6–12, 2014	800	± 3.5%	39%	43%	14%
David Binder Research[91]	July 24–27, 2014	600	± ?	45%	33%	22%
We Ask America[92]	July 9, 2014	1,037	± 3.04%	36.44%	45.35%	18.21%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rahm Emanuel	Toni Preckwinkle	Undecided
We Ask America[92]	July 9, 2014	1,037	± 3.04%	30.98%	55.23%	13.79%
Strive Strategies[93]	March 25–26, 2014	724	± 3.49%	32%	40%	28%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rahm Emanuel	Robert Shaw	Undecided
We Ask America[92]	July 9, 2014	1,037	± 3.04%	47.66%	29.55%	22.79%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rahm Emanuel	Robert Fioretti	Undecided
David Binder Research[91]	July 24–27, 2014	600	± ?	46%	27%	27%
We Ask America[92]	July 9, 2014	1,037	± 3.04%	45.08%	30.63%	24.29%

• * Internal poll for the Rahm Emanuel campaign

Results

Chicago mayoral election, 2015^[4][94]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Rahm Emanuel (incumbent)	332,171	56.23%
	Nonpartisan	Jesús "Chuy" García	258,562	43.77%
Total votes			590,733	100.00%

Results by ward

^[94]

  Emanuel

  García

Ward	Emanuel votes	Emanuel %	García votes	García %	Total votes	Turnout
1st	4,748	44.26%	5,979	55.74%	10,727	35.87%
2nd	10,931	77.17%	3,233	22.83%	14,164	42.84%
3rd	8,557	66.24%	4,362	33.76%	12,919	39.53%
4th	8,244%	58.90%	5,753	41.10%	13,997	44.93%
5th	7,322%	55.15%	5,954	44.85%	13,276	44.58%
6th	7,000%	56.84%	5,315	43.16%	12,315	36.23%
7th	6,948%	56.46%	5,357	43.54%	12,305	37.54%
8th	9,143%	58.51%	6,483	41.49%	15,626	41.38%
9th	7,728%	58.21%	5,548	41.79%	13,276	36.14%
10th	4,672	40.20%	6,951	59.80%	11,623	44.82%
11th	7,679	61.39%	4,829	38.61%	12,508	48.04%
12th	1,757	25.24%	5,204	74.76%	6,961	38.28%
13th	7,887	55.61%	6,295	44.39%	14,182	58.37%
14th	2,962	35.61%	5,355	64.39%	8,317	45.98%
15th	2,014	31.73%	4,333	68.27%	6,347	34.35%
16th	4,023	51.61%	3,772	48.39%	7,795	29.57%
17th	5,484	55.15%	4,459	44.85%	9,943	32.30%
18th	7,571	51.60%	7,101	48.40%	14,672	45.76%
19th	11,972	59.43%	8,172	40.57%	20,144	56.99%
20th	4,355	53.85%	3,733	46.15%	8,088	31.10%
21st	8,864	58.81%	6,208	41.19%	15,072	39.17%
22nd	1,458	19.63%	5,971	80.37%	7,429	38.82%
23rd	4,905	43.36%	6,407	56.64%	11,312	49.67%
24th	4,253	52.34%	3,873	47.66%	8,126	29.90%
25th	3,839	38.49%	6,135	61.51%	9,974	38.76%
26th	2,962	34.81%	5,548	65.19%	8,510	33.80%
27th	6,705	63.90%	3,788	36.10%	10,493	32.18%
28th	5,416	57.55%	3,995	42.45%	9,411	28.67%
29th	7,546	57.27%	5,630	42.73%	13,176	37.77%
30th	3,067	40.95%	4,423	59.05%	7,490	34.67%
31st	3,192	37.74%	5,265	62.26%	8,457	38.81%
32nd	7,808	62.32%	4,721	37.68%	12,529	40.31%
33rd	4,412	44.40%	5,525	55.60%	9,937	42.60%
34th	8,616	61.38%	5,421	38.62%	14,037	36.26%
35th	2,769	34.31%	5,302	65.69%	8,071	36.29%
36th	3,551	42.28%	4,847	57.72%	8,398	38.89%
37th	5,943	58.49%	4,217	41.51%	10,160	32.14%
38th	7,648	60.04%	5,090	39.96%	12,738	42.60%
39th	7,671	58.41%	5,462	41.59%	13,133	44.51%
40th	6,528	53.44%	5,688	46.56%	12,216	43.28%
41st	12,007	63.96%	6,766	36.04%	18,773	53.95%
42nd	11,504	84.93%	2,041	15.07%	13,545	42.43%
43rd	12,335	83.41%	2,454	16.59%	14,789	47.90%
44th	10,063	76.33%	3,120	23.67%	13,183	43.40%
45th	9,341	59.24%	6,427	40.76%	15,768	49.82%
46th	8,723	64.68%	4,764	35.32%	13,487	45.95%
47th	10,169	62.97%	5,980	37.03%	16,149	47.77%
48th	8,503	59.35%	5,823	40.65%	14,326	47.31%
49th	5,127	48.38%	5,471	51.62%	10,598	41.48%
50th	6,249	60.90%	4,012	39.10%	10,261	40.69%

See also

• United States elections, 2015
• Chicago aldermanic elections, 2015