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. 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. 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. They said we didn’t have any money while they spent millions attacking us,” Garcia said. 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. 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. 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.
– 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.