Just three days after Chicago Mayor Richard Daley opened up a mayoral free-for-all by announcing his intention to retire, Chicagoans already leading horses in what is sure to be come a wild race.
Tom Dart and State Sen. James Meeks made the best showing in a McKeon & Associates poll designed for the Chicago Sun-Times. The popular sheriff garnered 12 percent and Meeks garnered 10 percent of responses to the question: If the primary election for Mayor of Chicago were held today, for whom would you vote?
Pollsters surveyed 600 randomly selected Chicago residents and had a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percent.
So, what does it all mean? Squat.
The most telling number from the poll is 35 percent, as in 35 percent of responders don't have a clue about which candidate to elect.
Everyone else on the poll question -- Bob Fioretti, Jim Houlihan, Terry Peterson, Gery Chico, Rahm Emanuel, Jesse Jackson Jr., Luis Gutierrez -- grabbed between 3 percent to 9 perecent of the poll, which means everyone essentially sits in a statistical dead heat.
National favorite Rahm Emanuel grabbed just 7 percent, fitting in behind Dart, Meeks and Gutierrez.
Politics
Another thing to consider, the poll is decidedly incomplete. A number of other candidates - including clerk Miguel Del Valle and Ald. Sandi Jackson - have announced their intention to explore the office.
