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Chicago mayoral contender faces residency questions as new polls show him advancing to general [1]

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Date: 2023-02-10  

The Vallas campaign said that the location on the Giannoulias contribution was a mistake that would be fixed, and it defended his residency in Chicago. Vallas’ camp said his wife, Sharron Vallas, does live in Palos Heights to care for each of their parents, and that the candidate visits “when his schedule permits.” The Cook County Assessor's Office said Friday that, in response to media inquiries, it had investigated whether the couple should have received their Palos Heights homestead exemption and concluded that they were eligible because Sharron Vallas “is a primary resident at the home.”

That’s unlikely to appease Paul Vallas’ critics, though. Indeed, Schutz on Friday retweeted a post arguing, “Every single family photo Vallas has posted on social media over the last year has been taken in what appears to be a large suburban home, not a 950 sq ft Bridgeport apartment.”

All of this comes as two polls from two opposing factions both show Vallas grabbing one of the two spots for the likely April 4 general election, though the surveys disagree on most other details. First up is a Lightfoot internal from GBAO, with its numbers from late January in parenthesis:

Mayor Lori Lightfoot: 24 (25) former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas: 20 (22) Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson: 15 (9) Wealthy perennial candidate Willie Wilson: 14 (11) Rep. Chuy García: 13 (18)

The survey shows 7% undecided, while the remaining four candidates split the balance.

Lightfoot made it clear last month she wanted to go up against Vallas, declaring, “[F]olks, I would love to have Paul Vallas as my runoff challenger.” The mayor has previewed what strategy she’d use if she gets her wish with digital ads showing Vallas in 2009 calling himself “more of a Republican than a Democrat now,” and she’s also hit him for accepting an endorsement from the pro-Trump head of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police. Vallas, like all the candidates, identifies as a Democrat.

However, M3 Strategies’ new poll for Americans for a Safer and Better Tomorrow, a group that has run ads against Lightfoot but doesn’t appear to have endorsed anyone yet, has a different take on the race. The firm finds her in a tough fight to make it to round two in a contest where 11% are still uncommitted, though it shows her position improving since mid-January:

Vallas: 31 (26) Lightfoot: 17 (10) Johnson: 16 (12) García: 13 (19) Wilson: 7 (9)

While both GBAO and M3 offer different reads on the race, they’re in agreement that Johnson is making gains as García is losing altitude. A recent media poll from Mason-Dixon, though, had the congressman in front with 20% as Vallas edged out Lightfoot 18-17; Wilson and Johnson were at 12% and 11%, respectively.

García, for his part, has unveiled endorsements from fellow Rep. Mike Quigley and former Gov. Pat Quinn, who both considered running for mayor themselves last year. The congressman’s new ad, meanwhile, briefly goes after Lightfoot on crime while also reminding the audience that García was an ally of the late Mayor Harold Washington.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/10/2152318/-Chicago-mayoral-contender-faces-residency-questions-as-new-polls-show-him-advancing-to-general

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