It would be Thanksgiving at Rahm Emanuel’s house -- if Rahm Emanuel had a house.
A new poll from the Chicago Retail Merchants Association shows Emanuel leading the mayoral field with 39 percent of the vote. Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun is a distant second, with only 12 percent.
At this point in the race, the numbers are based on name recognition, and probably will be until after New Year’s Day. Emanuel and Moseley Braun are the only candidates with national name recognition. Also, Emanuel’s ad is on every channel. It even appears as a 30-second teaser on this website’s clips about other candidates. We’ll bring you Carol Moseley Braun’s announcement for mayor … after these words from Rahm Emanuel.
Here are the pre-holiday season standings:
Rahm Emanuel 39%
Carol Moseley Braun 12%
Gery Chico 9%
Danny Davis 7%
James Meeks 5%
Miguel del Valle 5%
Roland Burris 2%
Other 1%
Undecided 18%
Emanuel leads among all ethnic groups, getting 52% from whites, 31% from blacks, and 28% from Latinos. He leads in all parts of the city -- 52% on the North Side, 30% on the South Side -- and among all age brackets. (Interesting, Carol Moseley Braun polls best among 18-24 year olds, who are too young to remember her term in the Senate.)
Right now, the other candidates are focusing their attacks on Emanuel, filing lawsuits and making snide remarks about his lack of Chicago roots. They should probably be ignoring him and attacking each other. It’s clear from this poll that Emanuel is going to make the runoff. The challenge for the other candidates is to keep Emanuel below 50%, and finish second. Then, the runner-up can attack Emanuel full time from Feb. 22 to April 5.
As it turns out, Emanuel will be giving thanks for his lead in the polls at his brother Ari’s house, in Los Angeles. The other candidates will be spending the holiday in Chicago, including Robert Halpin, who’ll entertain his wife’s family at 4228 N. Hermitage Ave. -- Rahm's house.
