LTP News Sharing:

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot is blaming her stunning election defeat on racism and sexism, of course.

Lightfoot came in third place, with just 17.1% of the vote — former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas came in first with 33.95% and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson came in second with 20.32%.

The mayor was speaking to reporters about her loss on Tuesday evening when one of them asked if she had been treated unfairly during her campaign.

“I’m a black woman in America — of course,” Lightfoot replied.

Lightfoot had expressed similar frustration during an interview with the New Yorker in February.

“I am a Black woman—let’s not forget. Certain folks, frankly, don’t support us in leadership roles,” Lightfoot had told the magazine.

She also blamed criticism of her on racism and sexism in 2021.

Vallas, the clear favorite, had ran as a law and order candidate after Lightfoot’s term was plagued by skyrocketing crime in the city. His wife is also a police officer.

“Public safety is the fundamental right of every American. It is a civil right, and it is the principle responsibility of government. We will have a safe Chicago. We will make Chicago the safest city in America,” he said during his speech on Tuesday.

“It will not only come from providing the police with the resources and the support that they need, but from building the bond between the police department and the community so we have true community policing. … I will also … have zero tolerance when it comes to violating the law or violating the Constitution. And this is coming from a family of four police officers, including my wife.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reports, “A Vallas-Johnson runoff promises to be a generational battle between ‘the candidate of the Fraternal Order of Police’ and the ‘candidate of the Chicago Teachers Union,’ as veteran political strategist David Axelrod put it.”

Vallas and Johnson will now face off in the April 4 runoff.