Chicago is a mess, and Mayor Brandon Johnson's stunning favorable rating certainly reflects that. On Monday morning, many took to pointing out how Johnson has just a 6.6 percent favorable rating, which has become a trending topic on X. He's also got close to an 80 percent unfavorable rating. Chicago voters are more likely to say they're "neutral," at 12.3 percent, than those who have a favorable rating.
New poll has Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson with a 6.6% favorability mark and 80% unfavorable. https://t.co/uQrWCCkAom
— Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) February 24, 2025
These results come from an M3 Strategies memo ahead of the 2027 Chicago mayoral election. They quickly garnered attention over X, with user AGHamilton expressing particular shock at the low numbers.
Another user, Austin Berg of Iron Light, pointed out: "I don’t think I’ve ever seen numbers this bad for a sitting public official in any elected office."
Brandon Johnson continues to make history.
— AG (@AGHamilton29) February 24, 2025
The latest poll has the corrupt Chicago Mayor with a 6.6% approval rating.
Honestly did not know it was even possible to go that low. pic.twitter.com/K0Q2eOl1X8
Recent poll from @m3strat shows Mayor Brandon Johnson with an approval rating of less than 7%.
— Rise Chicago (@RiseChicagoOrg) February 24, 2025
It also ranks crime, taxes, and cost of goods as top 3 challenges.
While the mayor’s approval rating may signal there’s “no way he gets re-elected,” this isn’t a time for apathy. pic.twitter.com/FY0yBqym6N
NEW: A poll of Chicago voters finds fewer than 7% have a favorable opinion of Mayor Brandon Johnson, while 80% have an unfavorable opinion of the mayor. I don’t think I’ve ever seen numbers this bad for a sitting public official in any elected office. https://t.co/sexfGeXcrO pic.twitter.com/e7d4GtcqMT
— Austin Berg (@Austin__Berg) February 24, 2025
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With his 6.6 percent favorable rating, Johnson has by far the lowest of any of the candidates in the crowded field. Alexi Giannoulias, the Illinois Secretary of State enjoys the highest favorable rating at 49 percent. Paul Vallas, who ran for mayor in 2023 and came close to winning, is next with a 41 percent favorable rating.
The bad news for Johnson doesn't stop there, though. When it comes to a word cloud of respondents being asked to describe Johnson, the words that stand out the most don't exactly bring any good news to the mayor.
Among those negative words include "incompetent," "racist," and "worst." Other words include "ctu," likely the Chicago Teachers Union, and neutral ones such as "head" and "people."
Here's the Johnson word cloud from that poll pic.twitter.com/xf6mf7jWLW
— Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) February 24, 2025
In a crowded horse race of 11 candidates, Johnson finishes fourth. If this were to be the results come 2027, he would miss being able to participate in a runoff election, assuming no candidate wins the necessary 50+ percent on the first ballot.
Vallas, who finished first in the crowded field for 2023, once again comes on top, with 27.4 percent of the vote. Giannoulias finishes next, with 21 percent of the vote. Illinois Comptroller Susan Mendoza claims a distant third, with 11.7 percent of the vote. Johnson finishes behind her, with 8.2 percent of the vote.
Not so surprisingly, the top issue for voters is crime, with 67 percent saying so, though the city voted for Johnson, who has made particularly ridiculous points about his city's high crime rates. Fifty-four percent said high taxes, while 41 percent said inflation. Another issue in the news a lot has been immigration, with 24 percent saying "Immigration Control/Border Security" was their top issue. Just 11 percent said racism was their top issue. The two bottom issues were "Reproductive Freedoms (Pro-Choice)," with 4 percent saying so, and "LGBTQ+ Rights," which 3 percent said was their top issue.
The poll was conducted February 20-21 with 696 likely Chicago voters and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.71 percentage points. "Respondents were randomly selected from a pool of individuals who are likely to vote. All responses were generated via SMS to web survey," the poll memo noted.
Speaking of crime and immigration, Guy highlighted more bad news for the Windy City earlier on Monday, with how a suspected Tren de Aragua member was arrested and released multiple times, with Cook County, where Chicago is located, denying an ICE retainer. Guy also pointed to coverage by Illinois Policy. Not only does Johnson have a 79.9 percent unfavorable rating, his approval rating is only at 14 percent.
The federal government and the House of Representatives are taking notice of the problems to do with illegal immigration as well. There have been mass deportation efforts in the sanctuary city, with Tom Homan, this administration's border czar, vowing to not be deterred by the city or state of Illinois' sanctuary city policies. On her first day in office, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced she was suing the city of Chicago over the sanctuary policies.
AG Pam Bondi: "We sued today the city of Chicago, we sued the State of Illinois, we sued the Mayor, we sued the Governor. Let me be very clear- if you don't comply with federal law, you're gonna be next!"
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 7, 2025
🔥🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/4ZluNsLxBP
As Townhall has been covering, Johnson is one of several sanctuary city mayors to be invited to testify before the House Oversight Committee for a hearing that will take place next week.
Nevertheless, there are still predictions that Johnson may still get reelected, or another Democrat who could prove to be as bad if not worse. Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) was defeated in the 2023 election. A runoff between Johnson and Vallas was held, though Johnson emerged victorious with a margin of 52.2-47.8 percent after Vallas had gained the highest percentage of votes (in a crowded race, but failed to gain the necessary 50 percent. Lightfoot was long considered to be a particularly bad mayor, then Johnson came into office.
Time will tell if the same issue befalls Vallas, considered a far more moderate Democrat, come 2027.
So clearly the people of Chicago will learn this lesson and elect a centrist to transform the city in meaningful and sustainable ways going forward, right?
— Wesley B. Hartline (@WesHartline) February 24, 2025
Right? https://t.co/WhDmpBJZcz
Chicago will reelect Brandon Johnson in a heart beat because he doesn’t have an (R) after his name. They deserve what they get in governance https://t.co/OQ9M7bFf39
— Enguerrand VII de Coucy (@ingelramdecoucy) February 24, 2025
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