CHICAGO (AP) – In a city where the voters like tough-talking politicians, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s pugnacious style is being put to the test Tuesday as he tries to win a second term without having to go through a runoff.
After raising more than $15 million, or roughly quadruple the combined total of his four rivals, the former White House chief of staff is the clear favorite.
But the 55-year-old Emanuel has been campaigning like a first-timer, hoping to get the more than 50 percent necessary to win re-election outright. Otherwise, he will have to face the runner-up in April.
Since taking over for longtime Mayor Richard M. Daley four years ago, Emanuel has won praise for bringing about a longer school day, luring companies to the city and taking steps to address the worst-funded pension system of any major U.S. city.
But his challengers have put him on the defensive over his handling of a contract dispute that led to Chicago’s first teachers’ strike in 25 years, over the closing of nearly 50 neighborhood schools, and over a spike in violent crime. They have also criticized his sometimes-combative style.