Noticeably absent from all three [weekend mayoral candidate announcements] were other elected officials. […]
While their hesitancy could prove a factor in all the campaigns, it was particularly noticeable for Davis, selected as the “consensus candidate'’ of a group that had hoped to winnow the field to avoid splitting the black vote.
Ald. Ed Smith (28th), who isn’t seeking re-election, was the only member of the City Council to stand with the veteran congressman, a further indication of a lack of true consensus among the group that had initially narrowed its endorsement to two finalists — former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and Board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers Jr. — only to pull the rug out from under them and throw its support to Davis.
Davis needed a large turnout of elected officials from both the South Side and West Side to give a clear indication of widespread support and remove any confusion. His backers said that will come later, but they lost a chance to get off to a big start.
I still don’t understand the Danny Davis choice unless I look at it as yet another in the endless skirmishes between the oldtimers and the up and comers. The oldtimers have won almost every one of those battles. Obama is the exception, not the rule. And even he lost to Bobby Rush, remember.
* Although Rev. Sen. James Meeks’ habitual use of racial epithets probably didn’t do him much good…
On “Chicago Tonight,” State Sen. Meeks said for the first time that he regrets his repeated use of the N-word to describe African-American allies of Mayor Daley.
“Sure, I regret it,” Meeks said. “I don’t regret being passionate about the subject of education. And for those who would accuse me of using the N-word, I would just want to find any speech they’ve made about education, period.”
* Meanwhile, the Teamsters Union commissioned a poll of likely Chicago voters Nov. 8 through 14 with a +/-3.7 percent margin of error. Rahm Emanuel has a big lead…
36 Rahm Emanuel
14 Rep. Danny Davis
13 Moseley Braun
10 Attorney Gery Chico
7 State Sen. James Meeks
4 City Clerk Miguel Del Valle
Among African-Americans…
29 Emanuel
22 Davis
18 Moseley Braun
14 Meeks
2 Chico
1 Del Valle
14 undecided.
Emanuel also leads among whites and Latinos and in all of the city’s congressional districts, according to the poll.
* Check out Carol Moseley-Braun’s unfavorables. Not great…
• Gerry Chico 31% Favorable / 16% Unfavorable - 47% Name ID
• Danny Davis 55% Favorable / 24% Unfavorable - 79% Name ID
• Miguel Del Valle 24% Favorable / 13% Unfavorable - 37% Name ID
• Rahm Emanuel 58% Favorable / 29% Unfavorable - 87% Name ID
• James Meeks 34% Favorable / 39% Unfavorable - 73% Name ID
• Carol Moseley Braun 48% Favorable / 42% Unfavorable - 90% Name ID
Her fave/unfaves among blacks are better, but not outstanding at 61-33. But her fave/unfaves among whites are quite bad at 36-55. It’s amazing that she is so disliked after all these years. But, then again, she completely blew it when she had her shot.
Meeks’ unfaves among African-American voters are also relatively high at 36 percent.
* It appears that the residency issue is actually working a bit in Emanuel’s favor…
Chicago voters are aware of the recently-raised residency issues involving Rahm Emanuel, but an overwhelming majority believes he should be allowed to run.
• Almost two-thirds of the electorate is aware of the press reports involving Emanuel’s residency (63%), and - by a greater than 3:1 margin (62% Yes / 20% No) - Chicago voters believe Emanuel meets the residency requirements to run for mayor. In fact, Emanuel’s lead is actually slightly greater among voters who are aware of the residency issues than among those who are not aware.
• Just 24% agree that “because he has spent so much time living outside the city, Emanuel just doesn’t understand the city well enough to be a good mayor”. Almost three-quarters (72%) disagree. [Emphasis added]
The theory is that attacks on his residency are “Machine style” politics, so it helps paint him as the non-Machine guy. That ain’t reality, but it could be the perception.
* TV ads might be able to turn these numbers around, but nobody yet has shown they can raise the cash to do that…
Only 36% of voters agree that, “Emanuel is an opportunist. He left his seat in Congress to work in the White House. Then he abandoned the President to run for Mayor before the difficult mid-term elections. Now, he wants to run for Mayor even though he has not lived here.” A solid majority (59%) disagrees.
Voters also disagree that “Rahm Emanuel’s personality would make it hard for him to get things done as Mayor” (37% Agree/ 50% Disagree).
