Lynn Sweet of Politics Daily is reporting that Rahm Emanuel decisively won Tuesday's mayoral election, becoming the city's 55th mayor. With 98 percent of the city precincts reporting, Emanuel had 55 percent of the vote — enough to avoid a runoff election. His main rivals were Gery Chico, with 24 percent; City Clerk Miguel del Valle, with 9 percent; and former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, with 9 percent. Two other candidates also ran.
"Thank you, Chicago, for this humbling victory," Emanuel said. "All I can say is, you sure know how to make a guy feel at home," a wry reference to the residency challenge that at one time threatened to derail his candidacy.
"We have not won anything until a kid can go to school thinking of their studies and not their safety," Emanuel said. And the "parent of that child is thinking about their work and not where they are going to find work." President Obama complimented his former chief of staff, saying in a statement: "I want to extend my congratulations to Rahm Emanuel on a well-deserved victory tonight. As a Chicagoan and a friend, I couldn't be prouder. Rahm will be a terrific mayor for all the people of Chicago."
The end of a campaign marked by a residency issue for Emanuel and controversial statements from Moseley Braun is over. Now the hard work begins.
Read more at Politics Daily.
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