2027 Chicago mayoral election

Incumbent first term mayor Brandon Johnson has continually suffered poor approval ratings which have hovered at about 31% after he suffered defeat in his "Bring Chicago Home" referendum to replace Chicago's flat real estate tax with a progressive scheme which has left the 2027 election open to challengers.^[2][3] As of March 23, 2026, Johnson has continuously dodged the issue of if he is going to run for re-election although he still has a strong base with 30 to 40 percent of the Black vote.^[3][4]

The first candidate to formally announce was Joe Holberg a local entrepreneur who founded and sold a money management firm, doing so on October 6, 2025.^[5] However, by then the major players in the Chicago political scene, such as State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, Secretary of State of Illinois Alexi Giannoulias, City Councilman Bill Conway, Representative for the 5th District Mike Quigley, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, and Mayor Johnson, have all formed Political Action Committees to begin fundraising for the 2027 election, despite not announcing their candidacy yet.^[5][3]

The first elected official to announce their candidacy was Pappas, doing so on November 17.^[6] Pappas is also simultaneously running for the 2026 County Treasurer election stating that race is her first priority and that she is only in the mayoral race "unofficially" until the Treasurer election concludes, but that "I’m in. When I get in, I’m in."^[6] Pappas has routinely challenged Johnson's more progressive taxation schemes, from the aforementioned property tax referendum, to a bid to increase corporate tax by $600 million per year that was rejected in 2025.^[6][7] In September Pappas also commissioned the first poll of the election, a head-to-head poll between her and Johnson with a sample size of 800 that showed Pappas having a 56%-23% lead with 21% being undecided.^[8]

Representative Quigley would announce his bid on January 6, 2026.^[9][10] He is also simultaneously running for re-election to his congressional seat in 2026.^[10][11] In his announcement Quigley stated that "Chicago is in crisis" and that it cannot tax its way out of financial trouble centering his campaign around a pro-Business outlook.^[10] He would be joined on February 22 by Liam Stanton, a small business owner and founder of the neighbord advocacy group "The Chicago Style Project."^[12][13] By April 16, despite not announcing his intention to run Giannoulias had raised $18.3 million for a mayoral bid, dwarfing the $813,000 raised by Johnson, $300,000 by Quigley, and $278,000 by Pappas.^[14]

Candidate	Experience	Announced	Ref
Joe Holberg	Founder and CEO of Holberg Financial (2015–2023)	October 6, 2025 Website	[15]
Maria Pappas	Treasurer of Cook County (1998–present) Cook County commissioner (1990–1998)	November 17, 2025	[16]
Mike Quigley	U.S. Representative from Illinois's 5th congressional district (2009–present) Cook County commissioner (1998–2009)	January 6, 2026	[17]
Liam Stanton	Small business owner	February 22, 2026 Website	[12]

• Johnny Logalbo, addiction recovery counselor ^[18]

• Bill Conway, Chicago City Council alderman (2023–present) and 2020 Cook County state's attorney candidate^{[19][20][21][22][23]}
• Rahm Emanuel, former mayor (2011–2019)^[24][25]
• Alexi Giannoulias, treasurer of Illinois (2007–2011), Illinois secretary of state (2023–present) and 2010 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate ^{[26][19][27][28][23]}
• Brandon Johnson, incumbent mayor (2023–present) and former Cook County commissioner from the 1st district (2018–2023)^{[19][27][21][29]}
• Susana Mendoza, Illinois comptroller (2016–present), former Chicago city clerk (2011–2016), and candidate for mayor in 2019^[19][27][30]
• John Kelly, lobbyist^[31]

The following individuals have received media speculation as being prospective candidates:

• Kam Buckner, state representative from the 26th district (2019–present), 2023 mayoral candidate^[19][20]
• Luis Gutiérrez, former U.S. representative from Illinois's 4th congressional district (1993–2019)^[20]
• Brian K. Hopkins, Chicago City Council alderman from the 2nd ward (2015–present)^[20]
• Raymond Lopez, Chicago alderman from the 15th ward (2015–present) and candidate for mayor in 2023^[32][33][34]
• Lisa Madigan, former attorney general of Illinois (2003–2019)^[35]
• Silvana Tabares, Chicago alderman from the 23rd ward (2018–present)^[19]
• Anna Valencia, Chicago city clerk (2017–present) and candidate for Illinois Secretary of State in 2022^[19][20]
• Paul Vallas, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools (1995–2001), candidate for mayor in 2019 and 2023, Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014, and candidate for governor in 2002^[36]
• Andre Vasquez, Chicago alderman from the 40th ward (2019–present)^[37][21]
• Willie Wilson, medical supplies company founder and perennial candidate^[26][38]

• Chuy Garcia, U.S. representative from Illinois's 4th congressional district (2019–present) and candidate for mayor in 2015 and 2023^[39]
• Janice Jackson, CEO of Chicago Public Schools (2017–2021)^[40][41]

Brandon Johnson vs. Maria Pappas