Danny Davis drops Chicago mayor bid
CHICAGO — Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) dropped out of the race for mayor of Chicago on Friday, clearing the way for the city's black community to rally around former Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun.
Davis, who was chosen by a coalition of black elected officials, clergy and business leaders as the community's "consensus candidate" in November now joins Rev. James Meeks as the second African-American candidate to drop out of the race in the past week.
Continue ReadingAccording to recent polling, Davis was the most popular African-American candidate both within the community and the general electorate, tracking at 21 points among black voters and at 9 points among all voters, the second-highest total behind former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.
With Davis out of the race, the field is now clear for Moseley-Braun to launch a more direct challenge to Emanuel, who will need more than 50 percent of the vote in the Feb. 22 election to avoid a runoff.
Davis and Moseley-Braun, along with Meeks, made a joint appearance at Davis campaign headquarters to announce the decision.
“I am supporting Carol Moseley-Braun with every ounce of fervor that I have. I am even going to give her some money. I’m going to try to get every person who thought that they might support Danny Davis to switch their support to Carol Moseley-Braun. I will start tonight,” Davis said.
The news came on the heels of meetings between the two remaining candidates this week mediated by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Emanuel, the front-runner in the race to replace longtime Mayor Richard M. Daley, released a statement shortly after Davis' announcement.
"Congressman Davis' work on behalf of the people of Chicago goes back many years, and it certainly won't stop today — his views will be needed in the dialogue about the city's future," Emanuel said. "With all of the challenges we face, we must come together to work on behalf of all Chicagoans and address the needs of every neighborhood."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46933.html#ixzz19o1akMG7
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