{"id":146045,"date":"2025-08-14T21:12:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T21:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/146045\/"},"modified":"2025-08-14T21:12:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T21:12:12","slug":"past-his-terms-midpoint-mayor-johnsons-job-approval-rating-stands-at-26-survey-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/146045\/","title":{"rendered":"Past his term’s midpoint, Mayor Johnson’s job approval rating stands at 26%, survey shows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well past midterm and a year before his reelection campaign begins in earnest, Mayor Brandon Johnson <\/a>has a 26% approval rating with a majority of Chicagoans unhappy with his job performance \u2014 no matter where they live, what race they are and how much money they earn.<\/p>\n

The good news for the first-term mayor is that he had nowhere to go but up since polling earlier this year showed him languishing in single digits.<\/p>\n

The bad news is that, even with those recent strides, he remains deeply \u201cunder water,\u201d according to survey results from the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation and NORC at the University of Chicago, and well below the 50% benchmark widely viewed as the minimum for incumbents seeking reelection.<\/p>\n

Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel\u2019s approval rating was stuck in the 40s when he chose political retirement over the uphill battle for a third term after the furor that followed the court-ordered release of a video of now-convicted former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting and killing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Emanuel\u2019s successor, Lori Lightfoot, had a public approval rating in the 20s when she became the first elected, incumbent Chicago mayor in 40 years not to be reelected. <\/p>\n

Even more troubling for Johnson is the racial breakdown of the new survey of 1,111 Chicagoans ages 18 and over conducted June 23 through July 9 for the Mansueto Institute. <\/p>\n

The rookie mayor\u2019s worst showing is a 20% approval rating among white voters. But only 38% of African Americans approve of the mayor\u2019s performance. That\u2019s the base of voters Johnson is counting on to help return him to the fifth floor of City Hall.<\/p>\n

Johnson has a 28% approval rating among Hispanics, Chicago\u2019s fastest-growing and second-largest racial or ethnic group. And the mayor\u2019s worst showing, 69% disapproval, is among voters identifying as Asian-Pacific Islander. <\/p>\n

Yet another warning sign is the fact that a majority of voters surveyed in every age group disapproved of Johnson\u2019s performance as mayor of Chicago.<\/p>\n

Johnson rose from single-digit obscurity to the fifth floor of City Hall by sweeping Chicago\u2019s 20 majority-Black wards, and by making a strong showing among lakefront progressives, in part by exciting young voters struggling to get jobs and pay rent, buy homes, get married and raise children.<\/p>\n

Now, only 22% of voters surveyed between the ages of 18 and 29 approve of the job Johnson is doing. Johnson\u2019s worst approval rating \u2014 just 19% \u2014 is among Chicagoans 60 and over who are traditionally most likely to vote, even in low-turnout elections.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s followed by 32% for voters between the ages of 30 and 44; 28% of those between 45 and 59; and 32% among voters surveyed between the ages of 30 and 44.<\/p>\n

The new poll also gauged Chicagoan sentiments on the job Gov. JB Pritzker is doing. Now campaigning for a third term without ruling out a 2028 run<\/a> for president, Pritzker\u2019s overall approval rating is 64%. He is viewed favorably by all age groups, races, income and geographic groups.<\/p>\n

Johnson laser-focused on affordability<\/p>\n

Like Zohran Mamdani, the odds-on favorite to become the next mayor of New York City, Johnson has been laser-focused on the issue of affordability while pushing to tax the rich and make businesses and wealthy Chicagoans \u201cpay their fair share.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Democrat<\/p>\n

Democrat mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a rally at the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council headquarters in New York, July 2.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s somewhat surprising, then, that 53% of those earning less than $30,000 a year disapprove of Johnson\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

Less surprising is that Johnson\u2019s highest disapproval rating \u2014 67% \u2014 is among Chicagoans earning $100,000 or more. That\u2019s followed by 61% for those earning $60,000 to $100,000, and 50% for those in the $30,000 to $60,000 bracket.<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s road to political redemption runs through the African American community. That\u2019s why he\u2019s been making frequent stops at African American churches and become a regular on Black radio.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a lot more work to do, according to the survey.<\/p>\n

Only 26% of Johnson\u2019s West Side neighbors approve of his performance, while 30% of South Siders approve.<\/p>\n

No matter where they live, Chicago voters are disenchanted with the mayor. His approval ratings are just 22% in North Central and Northwest Side neighborhoods, and 29% on the Southwest Side.<\/p>\n

Survey results differ from mayor\u2019s polling<\/p>\n

Senior mayoral adviser Jason Lee, who helped quarterback Johnson\u2019s out-of-nowhere campaign, said the new numbers do not match the mayor\u2019s internal polling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose were the same numbers that I used to win the last election. So I\u2019m going to trust the numbers that we have over any external numbers,\u201d Lee said, refusing to share those internal polling numbers.<\/p>\n

Lee said the good news for Johnson is that there is one issue that has dominated all others in the Chicago elections he\u2019s been a part of since he moved here from Texas to become a community and campaign organizer: public safety.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Senior<\/p>\n

Senior adviser Jason Lee (right) with Mayor Brandon Johnson at McCormick Place.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re putting together the best public safety record in a generation. …against all naysayers who doubted that his agenda could produce a more safe Chicago. But he has,\u201d Lee said, pointing to double-digit declines in homicides, shootings and other violent crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only is Chicago becoming more safe, it\u2019s becoming more affordable,\u201d Lee added. \u201cHe\u2019s got the best affordable housing record in recent memory too. Those are the two issues that dominate \u2014 public safety above all \u2014 and this mayor is going to have a better record on those issues than anyone in recent memory and certainly anyone who would run in the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee acknowledged that the Johnson administration got off to a rough start because of a \u201cgenerational\u201d migrant crisis that left the mayor \u2014 a former middle school teacher turned paid organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union \u2014 to fend for himself without much help or expertise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe dealt with a generational crisis with little support, little resources and no blueprint. This is what we faced on Day One and we survived \u2014 not just the administration, but the city\u2026 That\u2019s in the rear-view mirror. We\u2019re through that. We\u2019re stronger. And on the issues that really matter to people, we\u2019re going to have the best records in years, and certainly a better record than anybody who would get in the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Veteran Democratic strategist Peter Giangreco was sanguine about the new numbers. During a comparable time in her single term, Lightfoot had a 48% approval rating.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t come close to making the runoff and her numbers were twice as good as Brandon Johnson\u2019s are right now,\u201d said Giangreco, who advised unsuccessful mayoral challengers Susana Mendoza in 2019 and now former Ald. Sophia King (4th) in 2023. \u201cIt\u2019s a deep hole and it doesn\u2019t look like one that he\u2019s going to to be able to climb out of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s fundamental problem is that, \u201cYou never have a second chance to make a first impression,\u201d Giangreco said. <\/p>\n

\u201cChicago voters start out \u2014 like with any new mayor \u2014 hoping that they\u2019re successful. And Brandon Johnson just, at every turn, seemed to leave the impressions on voters \u2014 North Side, South Side, West Side, [it] didn\u2019t matter \u2014 that he just wasn\u2019t up to the job. That\u2019s nearly impossible to change,\u201d Giangreco said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe ought to do the hard things that need to get done for the city and let the chips fall where they may. That\u2019s going to start with this year\u2019s budget. The worst thing he can do is pile up more debt and kick the can down the road because it\u2019s not going to help him win re-election, and it\u2019ll just dig the city in deeper than it already is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veteran political strategist Delmarie Cobb she doesn\u2019t need a poll to tell her that Johnson faces an uphill climb in the African-American community.<\/p>\n

\u2018Engine light is on\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that by being Black and being out here and talking to people. I hear what people are saying,\u201d Cobb said. Cobb said the fundamental message of the new poll and the feedback she\u2019s getting is, \u201cWarning, warning, warning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe engine light is on. But you still have an opportunity as an incumbent to repair your reputation and the perception of you. That\u2019s the power of incumbency, and it\u2019s whether he does it or not. I\u2019m not counting him out. I\u2019m counting him down,\u201d Cobb said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he let\u2019s everybody else do it for him and define him, then he\u2019s going to be in even worse trouble. He\u2019s going to have to define himself and he\u2019s going to have to spend all of this time doing that. He needs to spend these next months before the campaign officially begins as if he\u2019s already in an official campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cobb said she\u2019s not hearing the same anger in the Black community that she did when Rahm Emanuel closed 50 schools and waited until a court order to release the Laquan McDonald shooting video. What she\u2019s hearing is \u201cdisappointment\u201d with a mayor perceived as \u201clackluster.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of his biggest mistakes early on was \u2014 and this is what all politicians do, unfortunately \u2014 is they win and somehow think you have a mandate,\u201d Cobb said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have a mandate. You just barely won. You should be running the whole four years. And for a part of his term in the early days, he was coasting on his victory and not understanding that all of that is transient. People are happy to see you for a minute. But, it\u2019s not going to last.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Well past midterm and a year before his reelection campaign begins in earnest, Mayor Brandon Johnson has a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":146046,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,5386,1818],"class_list":{"0":"post-146045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-illinois"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115029183321633988","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}