While we know which candidates will compete in a runoff for Chicago mayor, we still are not sure about the identities of all the individuals who will appear on that ballot, nor are we certain that some incumbent members of the City Council will actually face runoffs in the first place.
Ald. Daniel La Spata and James Gardiner are hovering just under the 50% threshold needed to avoid runoffs in their wards.
Other races, including the fourth ward, could potentially see a change in the top-two as vote tabulations are finalized.
Races could still change in coming days as the final mail-in ballots are counted, with nearly 100,000 ballots still outstanding. Not all of those will be submitted, but city officials still expect to start sifting through tens of thousands of ballots beginning Wednesday morning.
Recounts could also occur in some races, with election results set to be certified in mid-March.
With that in mind, here are the races that are still too close to call as vote totals are finalized.
Ward 1
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It’s still unclear whether incumbent Ald. Daniel La Spata will face a runoff, as he is still hovering right below the 50% threshold in his race.
If there is a runoff, Sam Royko would likely be the candidate to oppose him in April.
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Ward 4
While Lamont Robinson is in the driver’s seat for a spot in the election to replace Sophia King, his opponent remains to be seen, as Prentice Butler and Ebony Lucas are separated by just 60 votes in their fight for second place.
Ward 11
Ald. Nicole Lee will face a runoff against Anthony Ciaravino, but the interesting component to the race is over which candidate will actually finish in first, as they were separated by just 17 votes.
Ward 24
Ald. Monique Scott, an appointee of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, will head to a runoff for her seat. She will likely face Creative Scott, but Vetress Boyce is still within shouting distance at 145 votes behind.
Ward 46
Ald. James Gardiner could potentially face a runoff for his seat, as he is currently just over 49% in election returns with one precinct left to report. Megan Mathias holds the edge in the race to potentially go up against Gardiner, but James Suh trails her by just 250 votes.
