Other than the races in my city and state come Tuesday is the race for mayor of Chicago. Early voting is underway and the trends favor the incumbent. I am predicting a blow-out type election. Rahm Emanuel by at least 15%.
Here are the numbers. The top turnout ward so far is the downtown 42nd Ward, with a total of 7,238 early votes and absentee apps submitted. The ward cast only 8,920 votes in February, and is going to breeze way, way past that in the runoff. Emanuel got 73.5 percent of the vote there in February.
Next in line is the 41st Ward on the Northwest Side, with 6,507 so far, and where Emanuel got 47.8 percent the last time around. Following that are—in this order—wards 43, 19, 44, 2, 47, 45, 11 and 13, all on the North Side lakefront, Northwest Side or Southwest Side.
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