Lori Lightfoot, a progressive Democrat and the first black female and openly gay mayor of Chicago, said Friday that Democratic presidential front-runners Joseph R. Biden, Sen. Bernard Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren are likely not going to get her vote for the party’s nomination.
“Apparently not progressive enough for them,” Ms. Lightfoot told the Chicago Sun-Times, referring to Mr. Sanders of Vermont and Ms. Warren of Massachusetts. “It is what it is. They haven’t reached out. They’ve been to Chicago. They were very supportive of the Chicago Teachers Union strike but didn’t feel it was necessary to talk to the new black LGBTQ mayor.”
Speaking about Mr. Biden, Ms. Lightfoot said the former vice president never reached out to her despite visiting Chicago several times during his campaign.
“I’m certainly not endorsing somebody that has never bothered to reach out. So the other person that I haven’t heard from directly is Biden,” she said.
Ms. Lightfoot said she had previously spoken with candidates former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana; Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg; and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick; as well as Sens. Kamala D. Harris of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory A. Booker of New Jersey before they dropped out of the race.
“… I’m looking for somebody that I think truly has a shot at beating Trump because the idea of four more years of … Trump is incredibly frightening to me,” the Chicago mayor told the Sun-Times. “So that’s number one for me. Obviously, I’m looking for somebody whose values align with mine.
“I think the American people are incrementalists. We’re not looking for revolution,” she said. “We’re looking for somebody who is practical, who’s speaking to the values of the person, who’s worrying about whether they have a paycheck, whether they’re gonna be able to take care of their kids, may have savings, build a future, and somebody who is going to be smart and able and put together a good team to take on the challenges that Americans are facing.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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