Poll Gives Emanuel 43 Percent

On the day hearing officer Joe Morris is expected to recommend whether Rahm Emanuel should be allowed to run for mayor, the Chicago Retail Merchants Association has released a new poll showing that, whatever his residency status, Emanuel is the people’s choice.

Emanuel is far ahead of the rest of pack, with 43 percent of the vote. Gery Chico is in second with 11. Then come Carol Moseley Braun at 7 percent, Danny Davis and Miguel del Valle at 6 percent, and James Meeks at 3 percent. Sixteen percent of voters are undecided.

“The new poll numbers indicate Emanuel has increased his lead with the percentage of undecided voters decreasing,” the CRMA said in a press release.

These numbers are consistent with a poll Emanuel’s campaign released last week, also showing him with 43 percent. But they’re much higher than a recent Chicago Tribune poll that gave him 32 percent of the vote.

The poll was also good news for Gery Chico, who moved into second place. In last month’s CRMA poll, Chico was in third, with 8 percent. Carol Moseley Braun, the former runner-up, slipped from 12 percent to 7 percent. That suggest Moseley Braun’s early numbers were due to name recognition, and that the previously obscure Chico has been building his profile with an aggressive campaign.

Throughout his residency challenge, Emanuel’s campaign has been arguing that he should be allowed to run so the people of Chicago, not the Chicago election laws, can determine the next mayor. Emanuel can point to this new poll to bolster his argument.

The poll was conducted by We Ask America on Monday, December 20th, collecting responses from 2,239 likely voters with a margin of error of ±2.07%.

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