(Headline USA) Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot suggested this week that people who don’t want to vote for her are racist and don’t want to see a black woman in power.
Lightfoot, who is up for reelection this week and is currently trailing two of her Democrat challengers, told the New Yorker in an interview published over the weekend that her race and gender have affected how Chicago residents’ votes.
“I’m a black woman and, let’s not forget, some folks frankly don’t support us in leadership roles,” she said. “Certain folks, frankly, don’t support us in leadership roles.”
She cited Harold Washington, the first black mayor of Chicago, and claimed the same forces who opposed his campaign for racist reasons now oppose hers.
“The same forces that didn’t want Harold Washington to succeed, they’re still here,” she claimed.
Lightfoot also blasted the media for its portrayal of her campaign.
“Do I like the way that I’ve been portrayed in the media as the person who can’t get along or collaborate?” she said. “There’s a long list of things that totally puts the lie to this notion.”
In the latest polls, Lightfoot trails former Chicago Public Schools official Paul Vallas by 19 points and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson by 2 points.
At a recent campaign event, Lightfoot blasted Vallas, Johnson and U.S. Rep Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, telling voters to “stay home” if they plan to vote for one of her opponents.
“If you want them controlling your fate and your destiny, then stay home. Then don’t vote.”
When asked about her comments on Monday, Lightfoot claimed she got swept up in the “heat of the moment.”
“If I said anything other than everybody everywhere needs to vote, then I misspoke in the heat of a campaign rally,” she said. “But I’ve been very consistent all along saying everybody everywhere needs to step up, and they need to vote just as I said today.”
