CHICAGO, Illinois, August 18, 2026 — Weeks before Mayor Brandon Johnson even officially announces he is running for reelection; the 2027 mayoral election is shaping up to be a quirky digital battlefield in Chicago. At least dozens of potential candidates are already in the process of gathering signatures to qualify for the ballot, while campaigns are directing thousands of dollars into the hands of social media influencers. Political strategists say this is the first Chicago mayoral election in which TikTok creators and Instagram influencers could have more impact than TV commercials on an election.
Petition Codes w/ Petitioner
In Little Village, former City Clerk Susana Mendoza kicked off her nominating petition drive and told supporters she wants her name on every ballot a voter casts. And businessman Willie Wilson provided the opening for sparking his signature collection by making a $100,000 personal loan to his campaign fund.
Official plans from Mayor Johnson remain elusive. He joked when reporters directly asked him if he could do that: “I can skip and whistle at the same time.” Under state guidelines overseen by the Illinois State Board of Elections, Candidates must collect up to 12,500 signatures of registered voters by around the end of fall to make it onto the ballot on Feb. 23, 2027. Should no candidate garner greater than 50%, the race moves to an April runoff.
Posts Related to Direct Payments as well as Dark Money
Paid creator partnerships have played heavily into Johnson’s political team’s playbook. The campaign also spent $7,000 sponsoring the Black Christian Influencers conference in Chicago and paid local creators as much as $2,000 per post to spotlight victories on administration policies. It was asserted by that creator, who now has more than 700,000 followers and is volunteering for Johnson, that she is sincere in her support and not paid.
The dark money groups are hitting back as well, employing rival influencers to attack Johnson’s record on public safety and taxes with pay ranging from $800 to $1,500 per post. Others attempting to take on that role are assembling creator teams of their own. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has $21.8 million banked for a potential run, and former housing authority chair Brenda Gaines is working behind the scenes to secure online consultants. The campaign season in Chicago has now fully transitioned from airwaves to your mobile device screen.
