When Jesus “Chuy” Garcia announced last October that he was challenging Rahm Emanuel for mayor, the incumbent had already raised nearly $10 million for his reelection bid. An affiliated political action committee, Chicago Forward, had collected about $2.5 million more, according to state records.
The old Democratic machine had armies of patronage employees to deliver the vote. The new political system that controls City Hall is based on a network of wealthy campaign donors. Here are five ways that system helped Emanuel hold on to his seat.
That meant for many voters Garcia was a blank slate. And the mayor was like a teenage tagger, eagerly spray painting his message onto that open space. In commercials and flyers, Rahm blasted Chuy for being a know-nothing rookie, in over his head, without a plan to deal with Chicago’s looming pension crisis. The mayor left it to his supporters—like Senator Mark Kirk—to drop the dreaded D-word, suggesting that a vote for Chuy was a vote for turning Chicago into Detroit.
In other words, he used his money to tell voters that they could find common ground on one key point: that he may be a jerk, but at least he’s Chicago’s jerk. v
