Bypassing reelection as comptroller, Susana Mendoza clears the decks for a focused mayoral run
Susana Mendoza was once anathema to conservatives in Illinois. She was an aggressive critic of Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and a loyal soldier in the army of then–House Speaker Mike Madigan, the now-disgraced and convicted kingpin of the Illinois General Assembly. Mendoza rose to prominence as a fixture of the Democratic machine, using her platform to go after fiscal hawks, defend union interests, and portray budget cuts as moral betrayals.
But times have changed. And so, it seems, has Susana Mendoza.
In today’s Chicago, where the bar for responsible governance is barely above ground level, Mendoza’s past sins have faded into relative moderation. She now passes for a centrist. And in the context of Brandon Johnson’s juvenile governance-by-slogan and fantasy-budgeting, Mendoza increasingly looks like a credible adult in the room.
Recently, a quiet but telling signal emerged from her camp: Mendoza missed the deadline to appear before the Cook County Democratic slate-makers to seek re-election as Illinois Comptroller. The Chicago Tribune reported that Mendoza has privately informed allies that she will not seek a fourth term in that office. While her spokesperson framed the decision as one Mendoza is “still weighing,” he also stated she would not run for two offices at once. In other words, the comptroller’s office is in the rear-view mirror. Mendoza has something bigger in mind: City Hall.
If she runs — and all signs point to it — Mendoza will enter the 2027 race as the first major challenger to Mayor Brandon Johnson, who is floundering in a sea of self-inflicted crises.
And make no mistake: Mendoza is already running.
In recent months, she has sharpened her attacks on the mayor, using her perch as comptroller to fire off volleys at Johnson’s reckless governance. In a February text exchange with Governor J.B. Pritzker, she relayed a rumor that United Airlines might be looking to relocate its headquarters, citing “an absence of any semblance of competency coming out of the 5th floor” — a reference to the mayor’s office. If that wasn’t a shot across the bow, her op-ed in the Tribune made it explicit, accusing Johnson of charting a “reckless fiscal course” for Chicago Public Schools.
And unlike many of her party peers, Mendoza has refused to tiptoe around the consequences of soft-on-crime policies. At the state’s Police Officers Memorial Ceremony in May, she criticized Illinois’ Pretrial Fairness Act for “permitting violent offenders accused of heinous crimes to be released on electronic monitoring.” The progressive left fired back, claiming the alleged offender in a recent high-profile case was actually on EM for a cannabis offense — not a violent crime. But the point was clear: Mendoza isn’t buying the decriminalization dogma, and she’s not afraid to say so.
This puts her on a collision course with Brandon Johnson and the leftist coalitions that swept him into power — coalitions increasingly fractured by reality. Johnson’s administration, barely into its second year, has alienated key constituencies. His mishandling of the migrant crisis, his antagonism toward police, his flirtation with tax hikes on everything from Airbnb to financial transactions, and his refusal to acknowledge crime as a serious threat to the city’s future have chipped away at the progressive sheen that got him elected.
Polling reflects this. Internal data from several Chicago political organizations shows Johnson’s approval underwater among Hispanics and moderate women — two constituencies Mendoza is well-positioned to win. Her Mexican-American heritage and fluent Spanish can galvanize a Hispanic voting bloc that has never been fully activated in city politics, despite representing roughly a third of the electorate.
Moreover, Mendoza has long emphasized administrative competence. She took over the comptroller’s office in the wake of Bruce Rauner’s budget impasse and a multibillion-dollar bill backlog and stabilized the state’s finances, re-established payment timetables, and beefed up the rainy-day fund. While that may not grab headlines, it’s exactly the kind of operational steadiness Chicago desperately needs after years of mismanagement under Lori Lightfoot and now Brandon Johnson.
And Mendoza has another advantage: she’s run citywide before. In 2019, she jumped into the mayor’s race late, a move that ultimately cost her. Despite finishing fifth, her campaign proved she could raise money, earn media, and command the loyalty of voters outside her home ward. Now, with time to plan and allies signaling support, she stands on firmer footing.
So far, only one other name has emerged as a possible contender: Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias. But Giannoulias, a legacy candidate who has coasted on his family’s political capital, has limited appeal in today’s Chicago. He also has corruption baggage. Ethnic politics have faded among white voters, and what remains of the Greek vote isn’t enough to propel a mayoral campaign. Giannoulias’ base is thin, and his political identity is vague — he’s more of a resume than a platform.
Mendoza, by contrast, knows how to draw a line. She’s already done it — on fiscal restraint, on public safety, on competence in public office. And those lines resonate not just with centrists, but with working-class Chicagoans who have grown tired of ideological experiments masquerading as policy.
Crucially, Mendoza may be able to stitch together a multi-racial, working-class coalition capable of defeating Johnson. If she can mobilize Hispanic voters, appeal to law-and-order Democrats (and disillusioned independents), and benefit from efforts like Chicago Turns Red, which aims to introduce competition among Black voters, she has a clear path to the runoff — and perhaps the mayor’s office.
There is also a gender dynamic at play. Mendoza would be the only woman in the field so far, and that matters in a city where women make up the majority of voters. Her reputation as tough but competent — combined with her willingness to speak plainly about crime and fiscal mismanagement — gives her the potential to win over professional women who once backed Lightfoot but have soured on Johnson’s chaotic reign.
The wild card, of course, is whether the Democrat machine run by Toni Preckwinkle coalesces around her. Pritzker has yet to weigh in, though his ongoing cooperation with Mendoza and mutual frustration with Johnson suggest that support is not out of the question. If labor leaders, donors, and ward bosses sense Mendoza is the strongest alternative, the dominoes may fall quickly.
Still, she will face resistance. Johnson’s allies in the Chicago Teachers Union and the Democratic Socialists of America will not go quietly. They will try to paint Mendoza as a retread of the old machine, a centrist sellout, a Madigan leftover. But the irony is that Mendoza’s experience in that system may be her greatest strength. Chicago needs competence. It needs realism. It needs a mayor who knows how to govern — not just how to campaign.
Susana Mendoza is not perfect. But she’s battle-tested, articulate, and serious about public service. And in a city where unserious governance has become the norm, that alone puts her head and shoulders above the field.
Let’s hope she runs. Let’s hope she doesn’t face a fractured opposition or a bruising primary. Because Chicago cannot afford another four years of fantasy politics and performative chaos.
It’s time to take the keys away from Brandon Johnson. Susana Mendoza just might be the one to do it.
