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 Chicagoans cast votes for mayor and for aldermen on Tuesday and
polls show Emanuel in danger of closely missing the 50 percent
needed for an outright win, even though his massive campaign chest
has allowed him to saturate the airwaves.
His most recent ad showed him hugging Obama, who visited his home
city last Thursday and praised Emanuel's "smarts" and "toughness."
The former Obama advisor has brought business investment to Chicago
but has had to fight off perceptions he is uncaring about the city's
have-nots.
The race has pitted big-money Democrat Emanuel - whose campaign
donors include Hollywood directors and hedge fund executives -
against a progressive Democratic challenger, County Commissioner
Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who has struggled to raise funds.
A run-off would mean six more weeks of campaigning for Emanuel
against the second-placed candidate, almost certainly Garcia. Three
other candidates - an alderman, a businessman and a perpetual
also-ran - are well behind in polls.
After making unpopular choices earlier in his four-year term to shut
down dozens of underpopulated schools in poor areas of the city,
Emanuel has turned more attention to lower income residents as the
election loomed, passing a city ordinance to raise the minimum wage.
 He has also billed himself as the only candidate who can make tough
decisions to rein in the city's budget deficit, expected to balloon
to $1.2 billion by next year due to a legally mandated jump in
payments to public pensions.
Emanuel, 55, is a former U.S. Congressman who became Obama's first
White House chief of staff, leaving that post in 2010 to run for
mayor of Chicago. He is known for his sometimes abrasive style and
is seen as cold and uncaring by many Chicagoans. But in tough
financial times, he has sought to turn that to his advantage,
arguing he has the personality to make hard choices.
GARCIA'S MOMENTUM STALLED
Garcia launched his mayoral bid late last year and vaulted quickly
into second place, but has failed to further build momentum. Most of
his campaign events are small and polls show he will take about 20
percent of the vote.
Many trade unions endorsed the incumbent, who has overseen major
infrastructure projects, while Garcia was not able to win many union
endorsements, even from public sector unions wary of Emanuel trying
to cut the budget for their pensions.
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The only union to put serious money into Garcia's campaign was the
powerful Chicago Teachers Union, whose leader, Karen Lewis, had
planned to run for mayor but backed down when she was diagnosed with
a brain tumor.
Rebecca Patrick, 31, adjunct professor at City Colleges, said she
transferred her planned vote for Lewis to Garcia. "It's not a great
reason to vote for somebody but I thought if he had her support, and
I was impressed enough with his credentials, ok."
Garcia has been hugely outspent by Emanuel, who had $6 million in
his war chest as of Dec. 31, even after spending $4.7 million in the
fourth quarter.
Garcia, in comparison spent $60,000 in the fourth quarter and ended
the period with $817,000 in his campaign fund. He held back on
television advertising until February.
But some voters are turned off by the big-money support for Emanuel.
"I think it's telling that a lot of his financial support is coming
from outside the city," said Robert Schultz, 60, who cast his ballot
for Garcia in early voting, which ran from Feb. 9-21.
Emanuel clearly sees Garcia, 59, as his biggest threat, focusing his
negative ads on him. Garcia, who has been a state senator and an
alderman, attacked Emanuel for failing to put more police on the
streets and for tax breaks for corporations.
Both candidates have to contend with voter apathy.
"I don't hate Emanuel. I do like Garcia," said Amariah Bradford, a
marketing student who said he would not vote. "Ultimately, I think
it doesn't make a difference."
(Editing by Frances Kerry)
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