海角大神

Despite campaign stops by President Obama 鈥� and outraising his opponents, combined, 4 to 1 鈥� Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel faces a surprise runoff in the president's home town.

It's an embarrassing setback not just for Mayor Emanuel, who had been Obama's chief of staff, but also for the city's Democratic establishment, which backed him openly.

While finishing first in the mayoral race, Emanuel, at 45 percent of the vote, failed to garner the聽majority聽needed to avoid the first runoff since Chicago switched to nonpartisan elections 20 years ago.

Now he faces six more weeks of campaigning against the second-place finisher, Cook County Commissioner Jesus 鈥淐huy鈥� Garcia, a fellow Democrat, who聽took 34 percent of the vote and is聽expected to give Emanuel聽a tough race.

鈥淭his makes it an entirely different ballgame 鈥� a brand new election,鈥� Dick Simpson, a political scientist and former alderman who contributed to Mr. Emanuel鈥檚 opponents, told聽the New York Times. 鈥淚t becomes a real battle and it sharpens the issues.鈥澛�

The election results have also been interpreted as a blow to the establishment wing of the Democratic Party, led by Mr. Obama, who campaigned with the mayor.聽

The president recorded a radio advertisement last month in which he endorsed Emanuel.聽The mayor's latest television advertisement also featured a clip of Obama hugging Emanuel at a Chicago event and a sound bite of the president declaring that the mayor was "making sure that every Chicagoan in every neighborhood gets the fair shot at success that they deserve."

Commissioner聽Garcia, who is backed by the left-leaning online聽activist group聽moveon.org, has portrayed his opponent as the mayor of the privileged 1 percent. Born in Mexico but raised in Chicago, Garcia, a former state lawmaker and Chicago alderman, campaigned on the theme of social equality.

鈥淭oday, we the people have spoken 鈥� not the people with the money and the power and the connections, not the giant corporations, the big-money special interests, the hedge funds, and Hollywood celebrities who poured tens of millions of dollars into the mayor鈥檚 campaign,鈥� Mr. Garcia told a crowd of supporters, The New York Times reported.

Thom Serafin, a Chicago-based political consultant, told聽USA Today聽that Garcia's campaign could become "a rallying cry for labor and a new focus against the 1%.鈥�

Meanwhile, Emanuel聽still faces criticism over聽his decision聽in 2013聽to close almost 50 public schools seen聽as low-performing.聽During Emanuel鈥檚 term, public schoolteachers staged their first strike in 25 years. The Chicago Teacher鈥檚 Union is backing Garcia.

"We need to upgrade our communities by building more and better schools," Tracy McGrady, a college student and part-time construction worker, told USA Today. "Instead, Rahm is closing them."

Emanuel was also criticized聽for his handling of聽a wave of gang violence聽that聽led to聽500聽homicides聽in 2012.

Despite this electoral setback, Emanuel聽says he will work to "earn the confidence" of those who did not support him. 聽

鈥淭o those who voted for me in this election, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart,鈥� he said at an election night rally, a local聽CBS聽affiliate reported. 鈥淔or those who voted for someone else, I hope to earn your confidence and your support in the weeks to come.鈥�

The three other candidates in the race finished far behind Emanuel and Garcia. The runoff will be held on April 7.聽