Rahm Emanuel Elected Mayor of Chicago

Rahm Emanuel, the former White House chief of staff, has realized his lifelong ambition to become mayor of Chicago. With 87 percent of the vote in the Chicago mayor's race counted this evening, Emanuel, 51, had 54 percent, winning the mayoral election outright and avoiding a runoff in April.

"Looking forward to working together as your next mayor," he tweeted tonight. After a topsy-turvy campaign, in which his Chicago residence was repeatedly challenged, Emanuel easily outdistanced a crowded field.

His closest challenger, longtime city official Gery Chico, drew only 25 percent of the vote. Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, the so-called "consensus" African-American candidate, polled a distant fourth with only about 8 percent.


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