Similarly, Brandon Johnson, a Chicago union organizer, was criticized by his rival for having previously leaned toward the “defund the police” movement. But he stressed that his opponent Paul Vallas was not actually a Democrat, forcing him to repeatedly defend his credentials.
Both Protasiewicz and Johnson prevailed.
“Voters showed they understand that public safety is much more nuanced than the way Republicans try to frame it. That it’s not just about having adequate law enforcement on the streets to promote public safety, but also about investing in mental health and substance use treatment and addressing poverty,» said the Governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, in an interview with POLITICO. “There are not just short-term efforts to address crime, but long-term efforts as well.”
While the two contests Tuesday night were nonpartisan, each featured a left-versus-right ideological contrast that offered a read on the temperature of where voters stand on key issues. Johnson stressed taxes on the ultra-rich, while Protasiewicz highlighted protection of abortion rights and voter concerns about threats to American democracy.
However, the main problem was crime.
It was not lost on state or national officials that had Johnson lost the race, they would have been forced to forcefully reject the narrative that their “defunding” position cost them the keys to City Hall. Instead, while crime concerns dominated the race, voters were not buying solutions that simply required adding more police. And they pushed back on the controversial police union that went hard on Johnson.
“The narrative that came out of the first election was that voters were scared crazy,” said Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster and strategist. «Now, after the last election, the story is that even though voters are scared, they’re not crazy.»
Pritzker, who helped raise critical TV ad money in Protasiewicz’s race, said the GOP’s tactic to paint Democrats as soft on crime was also used in the midterms and also didn’t work in Illinois and several states. key on the battlefield.
“We have all been attacked by the simplistic view of the Republicans and we are all people who believe that public safety has to be approached in a nuanced and multifaceted way. We told the voters and they responded,” Pritzker said.
“We saw it time and time again,” he added, pointing to the Democratic victories in 2022 for governors Tim Walz of Minnesota, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Tony Evers of Wisconsin, as well as his own in Illinois.
At the Pritzker race last year, his conservative opponent, Darren Bailey, criticized the governor over Chicago’s persistent crime problem. Pritzker said the polls showed that crime was “an important issue” for voters, “but that didn’t mean they wanted to choose the most conservative or Republican candidate. That was confirmed.»
The same was true in Tuesday’s mayoral election in Chicago, said Pritzker, who did not endorse the race in which Mayor Lori Lightfoot was out after the first round of voting. her administration crime management she was attacked by all eight candidates she faced in the first round, including Johnson and Vallas.
Vallas, a former public schools chief, seized on people’s fears about carjackings in neighborhoods that hadn’t experienced them to the extent they do now. He proposed increasing the number of police officers on the streets and talked about opening schools for alternative programs for young adults.
Johnson, who had previously said defunding the police was «a goal,» insisted during the race that he was not suggesting defunding the police. He said he supported adding 200 detectives to solve crimes and funding social service programs that get to the heart of the crime problem.
The spotlight on Chicago and its handling of crime was also on the radar of the national Democratic Party, with Biden weighing where the 2024 Democratic convention should be held. Chicago is a finalist, as are New York and Atlanta.
Pritzker called the Midwest “a blue wall” for Democrats, adding that “that was demonstrated last night. I think this puts us in the first position to win the convention.”
Some in the Chicago contingent pushing for his DNC bid worried that Vallas, by winning the mayoral race, would complicate his efforts because of critical comments he had made about Chicago and a host of other top elected leaders, including Pritzker. . They were heartened by the fact that Biden and DNC officials waited until he finished the mayoral race to decide.
For Biden, however, the biggest impact is likely in Wisconsin, a state that is central to his chances in 2024. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday plugged the string of Democratic victories on abortion rights since the Supreme Court annulled Roe vs. Wade last year.
“Americans want the freedom to make reproductive health care decisions without government interference,” Jean-Pierre said. «However, it appears that Republican elected officials are more committed than ever to attack the fundamental freedoms that Americans should have.»
Brian Stryker, a Democratic strategist who conducted polls for Protasiewicz, said the state’s 1849 abortion ban was a priority for Wisconsin voters. As are questions about whether elected officials there would certify future races. That Protasiewicz performed so well in suburban counties should serve as a powerful signal to Democrats across the region, he said.
Garin agreed, but went even further.
“Wisconsin is evidence of a backlash against MAGA’s takeover and its assault on democracy and rule by the people,” he said. «And the Democrats in 2024 would do well to take advantage of that.»