Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot complained to reporters that sexism and racism were the reasons behind her landslide defeat in Chicago’s mayoral election.
“I’m a black woman in America. Of course,” Lightfoot, 60, said when she was asked by a reporter if she’d been treated unfairly as mayor, according to the New York Post.
“Regardless of tonight’s outcome, we fought the right fights and we put this city on a better path,” Lightfoot also said, though crime skyrocketed under her watch in recent years.
Earlier this week, Lightfoot said that race was a factor in her reelection campaign.
“I am a black woman — let’s not forget,” Lightfoot said in an interview with the New Yorker last week. “Certain folks, frankly, don’t support us in leadership roles.”
In 2021, in an interview with WTTW, Lightfoot claimed that “about 99 percent” of the criticism she got was due to the fact that she’s a black woman.
Chicago's Mayor Lori Lightfoot plays the race card, saying that "about 99 percent" of the criticism she gets is because she is a black woman. pic.twitter.com/Y4JNTOgzqD
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) July 5, 2021
As Spencer covered, Lightfoot finished in third place with about 17 percent of the vote. The race will move to a runoff election on April 4. No candidate received a majority of votes. As Spencer mentioned, Lightfoot is the first mayor of Chicago to lose a reelection bid in 40 years. Her soft-on-crime approach contributed to her defeat, several reports indicated.
"Out of control crime and a lack of public safety impacts everyone in Chicago," Lightfoot’s opponent, Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas' website states. "No matter where you live, you’ve surely seen a change for the worse in the past few years.” Vallas will run against Cook County Board of Commissioners member Brandon Johnson, who finished in second place.
“I think Lori’s time is up,” Chicago radio host Ray Stevens told “Fox & Friends First” on ahead of the mayoral election. “Chicago has a rampant crime problem, and not only is it in Chicago, but it has reached the collar counties.”
“I don’t think it comes down to race,” Stevens continued. “There are people living in these communities that just want to be safe.”