- Credibility:
CHICAGO — Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts senator and former presidential candidate, is backing Brandon Johnson in the Chicago mayor’s race.
Well-known as a progressive, Warren was first elected to the Senate in 2012 and unsuccessfully ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. She announced her endorsement for Johnson Friday.
“Commissioner Brandon Johnson and I are both former public school teachers, and I can tell you that he understands what it takes to build a stronger Chicago for everyone. From education to public safety to housing, Brandon has a bold, forward-looking, progressive plan to move Chicago forward, and he has the experience to make those plans real,” Warren said in a statement.
Johnson is facing former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas in the April 4 runoff.
Both candidates have spent the past week shoring up endorsements from elected officials, unions and other groups.
In 2019, Warren joined striking Chicago teachers at a rally outside a West Side elementary school where Johnson, a longtime organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, was also in attendance. The CTU has become one of his campaign’s main financial backers.
Johnson also endorsed Warren for president in 2019.
“I’m humbled and honored to have Senator Warren’s support,” Johnson said in a statement. “Her outspoken advocacy for working people has made our communities stronger in Chicago and across the country. I look forward to working with Senator Warren in the years to come to make people’s lives better and stand up to special interests.”
Warren’s support for the CTU during the 2019 strike was cited by Mayor Lori Lightfoot as one reason why she did not endorse the presidential hopeful, as well as fellow candidate Bernie Sanders, in the 2020 Illinois presidential primary.
She was not endorsed by them, either.
“Apparently not progressive enough for them,” Lightfoot said at the time.
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