Emanuel Makes Slight Gain In New Mayoral Election Poll

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 5, 2015 5:30PM

Photo Credit: Salon.com

The latest mayoral election poll shows Rahm Emanuel still holding a commanding lead over his challengers yet still short of the 50 percent plus one vote necessary to avoid an April runoff. But there are signs the mayor could start breathing easier as the Feb. 24 election approaches.

The most recent poll of 884 registered voters from Ogden & Fry shows Emanuel’s support steadily increasing week by week, while support for Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Bob Fioretti, Willie Wilson and William “Dock” Walls dipping. Emanuel was favored by 41.7 percent of the poll participants. More concerning for all the candidates is the percentage of voters who said they were undecided on whom they would cast a vote for in two weeks: 23.5 percent. This means all the heat is on the four candidates who aren't Emanuel to sway the undecideds in the next couple weeks.

Peep, peeps.

Emanuel's camp evidently saw the numbers and that's one reason the mayor went on the offensive during Wednesday night's candidate forum on WTTW's "Chicago Tonight." (Walls was not invited to participate.)

There are two mayoral debates remaining: tonight on ABC 7 and Univision, sponsored in conjunction with the League of Women Voters; and Feb. 10 on CBS 2 and WVON Radio hosted by the Chicago Urban League. Tonight's debate should be interesting since a prep sheet containing notes and potential questions was leaked to the Garcia campaign on Tuesday.