Rahm Emanuel failed to win a second term Tuesday, suffering a national political embarrassment as little-known, lesser-funded challenger Jesus “Chuy” Garcia forced the mayor into the uncharted waters of an April runoff election. 
 
 It’s the first time Chicago has had a runoff campaign for mayor, which is what happens when none of the candidates eclipses the 50 percent benchmark in round one. 
 
 With 98 percent of the city’s precincts counted, unofficial results showed Emanuel with 45.4 percent and Cook County commissioner Garcia at 33.9 percent. Businessman Willie Wilson had 10.6 percent, 2nd Ward Ald. Bob Fioretti had 7.4 percent and frequent candidate William “Dock” Walls was at 2.8 percent. 
 
 Emanuel, who spent millions on TV ads to try to repair his image with voters following a difficult four years, attempted to portray optimism and patience despite the results. 
 
 “We have come a long way and we have a little bit further to go. This is the first step in a real important journey in our city,” Emanuel told supporters. “For those who voted for someone else, I hope to earn your confidence and your support in the weeks to come.” 
 
 Garcia sought to keep the pressure on by portraying himself as the populist progressive and attacking the mayor as a puppet of the large corporations and special interests he said filled Emanuel’s massive campaign fund. Garcia gleefully continued to embrace his role as Chicago’s underdog. 
 
 Caption Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks at election night Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel addresses supporters at Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union Hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd., Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel addresses supporters at Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union Hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd., Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) Caption Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks at election night Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel addresses supporters at Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union Hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd., Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel addresses supporters at Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union Hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd., Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) Caption Garcia: 'We're still standing' Chicago Mayoral candidate Jesus "Chuy" Garcia addresses his crowd of supporters after a close race, ending in a runoff. (WGN News) Chicago Mayoral candidate Jesus "Chuy" Garcia addresses his crowd of supporters after a close race, ending in a runoff. (WGN News) Caption Fioretti: Chicago is a 'mosaic of neighborhoods' In Bob Fioretti's speech Tuesday evening, he thanked voters for their support and reminded everyone that he will not "stop fighting for a better Chicago." (WGN Chicago) In Bob Fioretti's speech Tuesday evening, he thanked voters for their support and reminded everyone that he will not "stop fighting for a better Chicago." (WGN Chicago) Caption Wilson: 'We made a difference' Chicago Mayor candidate Willie Wilson addresses his supporters Tuesday night, looking to thank those who helped the campaign, as well as those he met along the way. Chicago Mayor candidate Willie Wilson addresses his supporters Tuesday night, looking to thank those who helped the campaign, as well as those he met along the way. Caption Walls presser after election William "Dock" Walls met with the media and his supporters after the Chicago Mayoral election results started to filter in. William "Dock" Walls met with the media and his supporters after the Chicago Mayoral election results started to filter in. 
 
 “Nobody thought we’d be here tonight. They wrote us off. They said we didn’t have a chance. They said we didn’t have any money while they spent millions attacking us,” Garcia said. “Well, well, we’re still standing. We’re still running, and we’re gonna win.” 
 
 For Emanuel, the runoff represents a personal and political setback for a Washington-polished powerbroker long known on the national stage. His rivals consisted of lesser-funded and less-experienced candidates, and at times the mayor’s campaign carried an aura of inevitability, though it often lacked enthusiasm. That was reflected, in part, by the low voter turnout, which also came on a day with chilly temperatures and occasional snow. 
 
 Chicago election officials estimated turnout would finish just above the record low for a mayoral race of 33 percent set in 2007 when former Richard M. Daley won his sixth and final term in office. Turnout this time around was expected to hit 34 percent, officials said. 
 
 Unofficial results showed Garcia eclipsing Emanuel in 15 of the city’s 50 wards, including 11 of 12 overwhelmingly Latino wards on the Northwest and Southwest sides. The mayor won the city’s remaining 35 wards. Among Garcia’s victories was the 14th Ward, home of veteran Ald. Edward Burke, where the challenger unofficially topped 52 percent. 
 
 The runoff sharply changes the political dynamics. Voters will now measure Emanuel against just Garcia instead of a field of four other candidates. And Garcia will try to get those who voted against Emanuel, but not for him, to line up in his camp. 
 
 Emanuel’s aggressive fundraising and TV ad advantage are expected to continue. But the mayor also now faces more pressure to engage Garcia one-on-one, rather than largely dismissing his four opponents as Emanuel did during five debates. 
 
 Emanuel thanked Chicagoans “for your vote of confidence.” But Tuesday’s results show that if the election was a referendum on Emanuel’s first term, he fell short of earning a passing grade. The main reasons: voter dissatisfaction with Emanuel’s decision to close 50 schools, his standoff with teachers during their 2012 strike and his struggles to tamp down violent crime, which spiked at times the last four years. 
 
 The results also reflect that Garcia’s message gained traction as he slammed Emanuel for a spate of shootings, school closings and not creating enough jobs in the neighborhoods, which the challenger argued had been “left behind.” 
 
 Garcia, a former alderman and state lawmaker, was a late entry into the race. He assumed the mantle of the Chicago Teachers Union after its president, Karen Lewis, ended a potential bid for mayor after being diagnosed with brain cancer. 
 
 Emanuel amassed a campaign fund of more than $16 million, with nearly half of it dedicated to 16 different broadcast television ads in which the mayor sought to shave off the sharp edge of his persona and overcome criticisms that marked his first four years. 
 
 But the advertising blitz, which included more than 4,600 TV spots that continued to churn Tuesday as the polls were open, was not enough to get to the 50-percent-plus-one-vote support Emanuel needed to prevent the city’s first mayoral runoff election since Chicago campaign law was changed 20 years ago. 
 
 In a precursor to the April runoff, Emanuel’s campaign night party featured remarks from prominent supporter Democratic U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who often spoke in Spanish. It was a direct acknowledgment of Garcia’s base in the Hispanic community. 
 
 “We’re in first place tonight and we’re going to be in first place again in April!” Gutierrez said. 
 
 Much like his race for mayor four years ago, Emanuel spent heavily to get his message before voters. But this time around, he placed less focus on his well-known political caricature as a fiery and often foul-mouthed politician. Instead, as a longtime political operative well-versed in campaign messaging, Emanuel made the calculation that his campaign should be less about him and more about what he has done. 
 
 As a result, his campaign website’s home page focused on an interactive Chicago map of city improvements over photos of Emanuel. His campaign slogan was rebranded from “Chicago for Rahm” to “Chicago Together.” And almost all of his campaign ads did not include him talking, but instead featured supporters lauding his specific accomplishments. It was an effort to soften Emanuel’s image with voters. 
 
 Emanuel had sought to paint his rivals as unable to articulate a cogent or comprehensive solution for dealing with the city’s financial problems, though he stopped short of providing solutions, including a potential property tax increase to deal with a looming $550 million police and fire pension payment. 
 
 Opponents, particularly Garcia and Fioretti, sought to seize on the school closings and the city’s spike in shootings on Emanuel’s watch as reason for voters to replace the mayor. Garcia repeatedly slammed Emanuel for not fulfilling a campaign promise to hire an additional 1,000 police officers, while the mayor countered he reassigned hundreds of officers from desk jobs to street beats. Garcia vowed to hire 1,000 additional cops, but did not entirely accounted for how he’d pay for it. ||||| Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel fell short of an outright win in his reelection battle Tuesday — despite President Barack Obama putting his hometown political clout on the line to push his former top aide over the finish line — and will face the second-place finisher in an April runoff. 
 
 Emanuel pulled in 45 percent of the vote — well short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia finished second at 34 percent, with 99 percent of precincts reporting. 
 
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 There is nothing to suggest that Obama is at fault for Emanuel’s showing. The mayor has had a rocky first term highlighted by clashes with teachers, a wave of violent crime and backlash over his plan to increase taxes. The famously hot-tempered Emanuel, long known in Chicago and Washington as “Rahmbo,” also met criticism for his sometimes hard-headed style. 
 
 But the result is also a disappointment for Obama, who put himself at the forefront during the final days of the campaign. He cut radio ads for Emanuel, his first White House chief of staff. And on Thursday, just five days before the election, the president flew into Chicago to give the mayor a boost. They appeared together at a stop in the Pullman neighborhood, where the president declared that he could not “be prouder of [Emanuel] and the extraordinary service he’s provided.” 
 
 Obama and Emanuel then made a trek to one of the mayor’s campaign headquarters, where the president told volunteers that Emanuel was “somebody who cares deeply about this city.” Video of the president’s testimonial ended up in the mayor’s final television ad before Tuesday’s vote. 
 
 Those appeals, however, were not enough to give Emanuel, who was facing a group of underfunded and less well-known opponents, a majority of the vote. 
 
 Although Emanuel will start as the heavy favorite to retain his seat, Garcia, a Cook County commissioner, will have an opening to consolidate the mayor’s opposition. Garcia, businessman Willie Wilson (who won 11 percent of the vote on Tuesday) and Alderman Bob Fioretti (7 percent) and activist William “Dock” Walls (3 percent) portrayed Emanuel as beholden to wealthy special interests, hostile to teachers and ineffective at solving the city’s crime problems. 
 
 Polls showed Emaunel closing in on a majority in recent weeks but never quite clearing the threshold. Emanuel vastly outraised his opponents, pulling in $13 million to Garcia’s $1 million. While Emanuel ran a slate of TV commercials, including one that featured Obama, Garcia was able to air only one TV ad. 
 
 Aside from his financial disadvantages in the contest, Garcia will face obstacles to securing the voters who backed other hopefuls. While Garcia has appealed to progressives and Hispanics, Wilson earned support from black residents and Fioretti from white, working-class voters. 
 
 The outcome is the latest personal political setback for Obama, who has recently watched several allies fall short at the ballot box: Incumbent Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie — a family friend — lost his own party primary in August despite Obama’s intervention, then Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn went down to a Republican in November. 
 
 The president and his political team now must decide how — or whether — to engage in a runoff election that will put Emanuel’s controversial tenure under the national microscope. Eric Schultz, a White House spokesman, declined to comment on Obama’s plans to buttress Emanuel other than to say he is “supportive and will do what we can to help.” 
 
 Behind the scenes, sources close to the mayor say, Emanuel and Obama have stayed in close contact throughout the contest. They have been talking by phone every few weeks, and in late November, during a visit to Washington, D.C., Emanuel stopped by the White House for a private meeting with the president. 
 
 The planning for Obama’s trip to Chicago was nearly three weeks in the making, the sources said. 
 
 In many ways, Obama was the ideal surrogate for Emanuel. While the president has seen his popularity ebb nationwide since taking office, he remains popular in his hometown. 
 
 He is particularly popular among the group of voters who have complained most bitterly about Emanuel’s tenure: African-Americans. Many of them have been deeply unhappy about the mayor’s controversial 2013 decision to close 50 underperforming schools, most of them in hard-scrabble neighborhoods. In sending the children to schools elsewhere, Emanuel argued, he was ensuring they received a better education. 
 
 During the closing days of the contest, polls showed a large percentage of black voters uncommitted. In praising Emanuel, Obama adopted a simple line of attack designed to appeal to those voters who were squeamish about supporting him: that he has been willing to make tough decisions, even if they didn’t make everyone happy. 
 
 “If you want a mayor who does what’s right, not just what’s popular, who fights night and day for the city we love, then I hope you’ll join me,” Obama said in a radio ad for Emanuel. 
 
 Edward-Isaac Dovere contributed to this report. ||||| CHICAGO In a surprise result that showed the limits of a big-money campaign, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel failed to get more than 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday's election, and must face a run-off against second-place finisher Jesus "Chuy" Garcia in April. 
 
 The setback for Emanuel, 55, came despite a visit to Chicago last week from President Barack Obama, whom Emanuel served as chief of staff. 
 
 With $6 million in his war chest at year end even after spending $4.7 million in the fourth quarter, Emanuel hugely outspent four opponents in his race for a second term as head of the nation's third-largest city. 
 
 The powerful Democrat got millions of dollars from campaign donors, including Hollywood directors and hedge fund executives, plus Obama's support. 
 
 But it wasn't enough to fend off the mild-mannered Garcia, a Cook County commissioner and progressive Democrat with a paltry campaign fund. Garcia held a low public profile before he jumped into the race last October after the teacher's union president, Karen Lewis, backed away after being diagnosed with brain cancer. 
 
 The run-off election against Garcia will be held on April 7. 
 
 With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Emanuel had 45.4 percent of the vote, while Garcia had 33.9 percent. Polls before the election had shown Emanuel close to 50 percent, and Garcia at about 20 percent. 
 
 Emanuel sounded hoarse and emotional as he told supporters to continue their fight. 
 
 "Tomorrow morning I will be seeing you at the L stops," said Emanuel "We will get back out there talking to our friends and families and neighbors as they make a critical choice about who has the strength, who has the leadership, who has the ideas to move this great city forward." 
 
 The former Illinois congressman won the mayoral seat outright when he first ran in 2011. 
 
 But controversial decisions to close 50 public schools and continued high crime helped send the Chicago mayoral election into its first run-off since the city started holding nonpartisan elections in 1995. 
 
 Garcia, 58, a former state senator and alderman, has argued that Emanuel paid more attention to the city's upper class and downtown than to the poor and communities outside the commercial center. 
 
 In a television ad, he turned one of Emanuel's apparent strengths - an ability to lure corporations to Chicago - into a negative by casting the incentive packages as tax breaks that favored big companies while taking money away from spending on police. 
 
 "We have something to say," said Garcia to his euphoric supporters Tuesday night. "We want change." 
 
 Garcia had the support of the powerful Chicago Teachers Union and its president, Lewis, who gave Garcia an immediate boost by videotaping an endorsement of him the week he announced his bid for mayor. 
 
 Suzy Broz, 26, a former Emanuel supporter, said she thought Garcia could win. 
 
 "A lot of people are upset with a one percent mayor and people feel that there's a great chance for change," Broz said. 
 
 Emanuel, known for his sometimes abrasive style, has argued that he had to make tough choices to rein in the city's budget deficit, which is expected to grow to $1.2 billion by next year due to an increase in payments to public pensions. 
 
 As the election loomed, Emanuel turned more attention to lower income residents, passing a city ordinance to raise the minimum wage. 
 
 (Editing by Kim Coghill) ||||| Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks to the press after leaving a restaurant where he had lunch with U.S. Representative Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL), Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza on election day February 24, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images) 
 
 CHICAGO — Rahm Emanuel was dealt a tough political blow on Tuesday, after he was forced into a runoff election to hold onto his seat as mayor of the Windy City. 
 
 Emanuel, who raised about $15 million for the campaign, finished first in the five candidate field, but fell far short of garnering the 50% plus one vote he needed to win outright and avoid a runoff election. He will now face the second place finisher, Cook County Commissioner, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, on April 7. 
 
 With 95.7% of precincts reporting, Emanuel had 45.3% of the vote and Garcia had 33.9%. 
 
 "We came a long way, and we have a little bit further to go," Emanuel said. 
 
 Chicago ceased holding partisan primaries in 1995, when it switched to the current election format. It marks the first time that the city will hold a runoff mayoral election. 
 
 Emanuel, who raised more than his four rivals combined, buried his challengers in $7 million in campaign advertising in his unsuccessful attempt to avoid the runoff. 
 
 . 
 
 He even turned to President Obama, who Emanuel served as White House chief of staff from 2009 to 2010, as his chief surrogate. 
 
 Obama recorded a radio advertisement in which he endorsed Emanuel last month. Last week, the president flew to Chicago last week to announce the designation of the Pullman historic district, which manufactured sleeper cars at the turn of the 20th Century and was at the center of the black labor movement. 
 
 Emanuel's latest television advertisement featured a clip of Obama wrapping Emanuel in a hug at the Pullman event and a sound bite of the president touting the mayor as "making sure that every Chicagoan in every neighborhood gets the fair shot at success that they deserve." 
 
 But the president's influence wasn't able to help Emanuel close the deal. 
 
 "We need to upgrade our communities by building more and better schools," said Tracy McGrady, a college student and part-time construction worker. "Instead, Rahm is closing them." 
 
 In Chicago's Bronzville neighborhood, a predominantly African-American neighborhood, Emanuel supporters appeared to be a rare breed. 
 
 "I don't like Rahm," said Henry Ray, who said he voted for Wilson. "He is doing nothing for my people." 
 
 The mayor, a former U.S. congressman who served a district on Chicago's Northwest Side, has faced scathing criticism for his decision to close 50 city schools with low enrollment and the scorn of Chicago teachers, who staged their first strike in 25 years early in Emanuel's term. The mayor's reputation also took a hit when the city recorded more than 500 murders in 2012. 
 
 For his part, Emanuel has noted that he raised the minimum wage, expanded full-day kindergarten programs for children in the city, and made big improvements in Chicago's sprawling rapid transit system during his term. 
 
 "I like what [Emanuel] is doing for the city," said Barb Boronski, who cast her ballot for the mayor at St. Wenceslaus Church on the city's Northwest Side. "He does what the other candidates are afraid to do." 
 
 Cook County Commissioner John Daley sang Emanuel's praises not far from a polling station. 
 
 "Rahm has been an effective mayor and a strong leader in difficult times," said Daley, whose brother and father spent a combined 43 years as mayors of Chicago. "He loves his job and he shows it." 
 
 After it became clear on Tuesday evening that he'd forced a runoff, Garcia celebrated his second-place finish against the much-better funded Emanuel. He also continued his populist assault on Emanuel as "Mayor 1%." 
 
 "We've got six weeks of hard work ahead of us," Garcia told supporters at a campaign celebration. "Believe me. These big money interests are going to throw everything they've got at us. They run this town and they're not going to give up easily. " 
 
 . 
 
 He didn't throw his hat into his race until after Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis and Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle opted not to launch bids to unseat Emanuel. 
 
 Garcia, 58, was born in Durango, Mexico. His father was a farm laborer who worked fields in California, Kansas, and Texas. When Garcia was 10, the family gained permanent residency status and moved to Chicago. He later became a U.S. citizen. 
 
 In addition to serving as a Cook County commissioner, Garcia previously was elected to Chicago city council and served in the Illinois General Assembly. 
 
 Thom Serafin, Chicago-based political consultant, said he expects "an awfully entertaining horse-race" in the six weeks ahead. 
 
 Garcia's campaign could become "a rallying cry for labor and a new focus against the 1%," Serafin said. "The cinders are there – all they need is a light. " 
 
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– Chicago will hold its very first mayoral runoff election, because incumbent Rahm Emanuel failed to win the 50% of the vote that he needed in yesterday's election to secure a second term. He got just 45.4%, and Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia got 33.9%; they'll face off on April 7. How it's being framed: The Chicago Tribune notes that Emanuel suffered "a national political embarrassment," calling Garcia "little-known" and "lesser-funded." It notes Emanuel's problems with voters: his closure of 50 schools and "standoff" with teachers during a strike in 2012 (their first in a quarter-century, USA Today notes), plus his "struggles" to decrease violent crime. Reuters calls it a "surprise result," noting that Emanuel "hugely outspent" his four opponents and had support from VIPs involved in everything from Hollywood to hedge funds—the president even backed him, and visited the city last week. In fact, the result is "disappointing" for Obama, who recorded radio ads for his former chief of staff and even appeared in one of Emanuel's TV ads, Politico says, but notes that "there is nothing to suggest that Obama is at fault for Emanuel’s showing." Politico also says Emanuel will "start as the heavy favorite" in the runoff campaign.