Natalia Chi
We are less than three weeks away from the mayoral election on February 28th. Sophia King (No. 4) finally made it to TV in her first campaign her commercial, thanks to her $350,000 from her own household.
King was named by just 1% of respondents in a new poll last week for the Chicago Sun-Times, WBEZ, Telemundo Chicago and NBC5. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia led the field with 20%, followed by Paul Vallas with 18% and Mayor Lori Lightfoot with 17%.
A little behind were Willie Wilson at 12% and Brandon Johnson at 11%.
King has her own poll, conducted in mid-January by Lester & Associates, that shows dramatically different results, she said.
She starts at 8% and grows to 17% after voters are told about her experience and message of moderation and political cooperation — what she calls it in the ad“The Power of AND”.
“We have Chui and Brandon who are seeking defense from the police. We have Willie and Paul who are seeking law and order. and do not want order. Those are fringe messages. Our polls show that our message resonates with people across the city, and when our message spreads, it grows in all black, white, and Latino communities.
“Voters still want women. … I am the only other woman in the race. Now is not the time for people who are flying planes and building them at the same time.We just did it and it didn’t work.Voters want stability and We need someone to unite us and move Chicago forward.
The commercial begins with King looking directly at the camera, turning on a timer and picking up his cell phone.
“No matter where you live, you don’t have to wait 30 minutes to call the police,” King says in an ad that shows the elapsed time on the phone’s screen.
It is followed by a series of shots of her talking to constituents, looking at building plans, walking down a school hallway, and returning to her teaching roots while standing at the chalkboard in her classroom.
“When we reject wrong choices, we can tackle today’s violence and its root causes. We can empower police and hold them accountable. Revitalize our neighborhoods and downtown.” Let’s prepare our children for college and trade.We can have security and justice.That’s the power of AND.”
King entered the race with high expectations and gained a formidable reputation in campaign financing.
A house music DJ and Chicago attorney, her husband is a basketball buddy of former President Barack Obama.
That is, in part, why she came to be appointed by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was Obama’s first White House Chief of Staff. It’s also how she beat her four opponents in the election by almost a 6-to-1 margin.
But her fundraising for mayor has not lived up to that reputation.
She raised $739,000, of which $350,000 came from her home. King calls it “the skin of the game.”
“I don’t have a lot of interest behind me. There are people behind me. I have more.” [individual] Funders of my campaign more than anyone else,” she said.
“Chuy has one [major] Backer. They’re a union that Chicago doesn’t even have. … They want him to support ordinances that kill black businesses and other unions. Johnson has the support of the teachers’ union and the Socialist Party. There is certainly no need for a faculty union to run … 5.th floor. “
King said he hopes to continue to raise money to ensure that he has enough money to continue broadcasting through the Feb. 28 election.
For those who think it’s too little, too late, King pointed out that there are a lot of undecided voters, and Lightfoot was 3% at this point four years ago.
“Why is it too late? It was never too late. For me, the race is wide open,” she said.
King isn’t the only single-digit club to run new ads.
Community activist Jamal Greene scored 2% in a Sun-Times/WBEZ poll and received 12,000 views on cable delivering his message to young voters.
