![chicago-1791002_1280](https://www.stephaniemiller.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/chicago-1791002_1280-696x428.jpg)
Brandon Johnson will be the next mayor of Chicago, NBC News projected Tuesday, marking a stunning turn for a staunch progressive and former teacher whose campaign leaned into messages of racial and economic disparities and who overcame blowback over past comments about decreasing police funding.
Johnson defeated the well-financed, tough-on-crime moderate Paul Vallas, a former CEO of the Chicago Public Schools who promised to immediately bulk up the Chicago police ranks to curb a crisis of gun violence.
Vallas told his supporters Tuesday night that he called Johnson and “told him I absolutely expect him to be the next mayor.”