Mr. García is also competing for votes from progressives: He traces his Chicago political experience back to the campaign to elect the city’s first Black mayor, Harold Washington, in 1983. Mr. García, who was born in Mexico, would be Chicago’s first Hispanic mayor. In 2015, he ran for mayor against the incumbent, Rahm Emanuel, winning enough votes to force a runoff.
At a campaign stop on the North Side, Mr. García said he was optimistic about qualifying for the runoff. “It’s down to turnout, and that’s what we’re focusing on today: door-knocking, phone calls, texts, everything we can,” Mr. García said. “It’ll be a tight race.”
Polls had suggested that Willie Wilson, a businessman with a base of support from working-class Black voters, was also within striking distance of the runoff.
With nine candidates to choose from, some voters remained unsure of who to back even as they approached the polls on Tuesday. Jimmy Cooks, 66, who voted for Ms. Lightfoot in the last election, said he would not do so again because of what he saw as her unsteady handling of both the pandemic and crime.
“She’s a suspect,” he said of the mayor. “She’s not a prospect anymore. We need prospects.”
Mr. Cooks, a retired Comcast contractor, said he hadn’t made up his mind about who to vote for, but he was against seasoned politicians like Ms. Lightfoot, Mr. Vallas and Mr. García.
“We need new blood, new ideas,” he said, adding that he “likes the look” of Mr. Johnson.
“Whoever wins is going to have a tough job,” he said.
Reporting was contributed by Robert Chiarito and Dan Simmons.
