CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel won a second term Tuesday in a runoff election campaign that hinged on serious financial challenges facing the nation’s third-largest city and the brusque management style of the former White House chief of staff.
Emanuel was forced to campaign furiously across the city to beat Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia after failing to capture a majority against four other candidates in a February election. The mayoral runoff was the first since the city changed the way it conducts elections in 1990s.
With about three-quarters of voting precincts reporting results, Emanuel had 56 percent of the vote compared to 44 percent for Garcia.
The incumbent highlighted tough decisions he’s made since succeeding former Mayor Richard M. Daley in 2011, but admitted that his management approach too often rubbed city residents the wrong way. He portrayed Garcia as too inexperienced to handle a financial crunch faced by the nation’s third largest city.
Emanuel raised far more money than Garcia, plastered the airwaves with ads and had support from his former boss, President Barack Obama, who cast an early ballot for him from Washington.