Now that the mayor’s job in Chicago is down to two finalists – Mayor Emanuel and Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia – and the election just days away, voters are giving them both a harder look.
What voters see, hear or read about the candidate and his personality and issues he cares about paint a picture of the candidate. How they present themselves, interact, communicate, and answer questions and even their gestures, tone of their voice, clothes or facial expressions – put simply, their image – is paramount to voters who will decide on Tuesday who gets the job of running Chicago for the next four years, political experts said.
“Image is definitely more about personality and how you come across to voters than it is if you have a mustache or if you dress weird,” said political consultant Terrie Pickerill, partner at Snyder Pickerill Media Group, which has worked on campaigns including Toni Preckwinkle for Cook County board president. “Voters have to like you to vote for you.”
None of the five candidates won more than 50 percent of the vote in the February election to declare victory, so the top two vote-getters – Emanuel and Garcia – are squaring off in Tuesday’s runoff election. It’s crucial for them to reach out and interact with voters because that tends to draw out their real personalities, experts said. Of course, they’re each trying to persuade voters why he is the best man for the job by making his case at campaign stops and debates and through campaign mailers and TV ads.
If voters don’t get face time with the candidates or meet them in person at “L” stops, they rely on those debates and ads – particularly any zingers or unscripted moments – to get a snapshot of the candidates along with what’s reported by the media and shared on social media. All that can help create and reinforce a candidate’s image, experts said.
In his first TV ad since being forced in February into a runoff, Emanuel tried to sandpaper his rough-around-the-edges reputation by wearing a casual v-neck sweater and telling viewers, “I can rub people the wrong way or talk when I should listen. I own that.” In his latest commercial, he again spoke directly into the camera and said, “Chicago’s a great city, but we can be even better. And yeah, I hear ya, so can I.”
Meanwhile, Garcia showed a fiery side during the second debate when he criticized the decision to put the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on lakefront property, telling Emanuel, “You’re not the king of the city.” Garcia may have scored sympathy points at the third debate when he was asked about his son’s gang ties, prompting boos and social media backlash against the moderator. “He made some mistakes. I’m not proud of it. Perhaps all the love that we gave him wasn’t enough. Gladly my son learned from his mistakes… He turned life around,” Garcia said.
Campaigns look for chances to deliver their message in a way that people can empathize with, said Kevin Lampe, political strategist and executive vice president of Kurth Lampe, which is not working with either mayoral campaign. That’s why the words the candidates choose, the tone of their voice, how they dress, facial expressions and the gestures they make are important in supporting the message, he said. A candidate’s image can enhance or take away from the message, he said.
“In this runoff, the candidates have done a better job of opening themselves up, of showing their truer colors and demonstrating themselves in a better light,” Lampe said. “Rahm showed some of his softer side and Chuy has shown a more dramatic side.”
A candidate’s image is a visual representation of what comes to mind when you think of that politician, what are the emotions you feel and what kind of people do you see them surrounded by, said Bruce Newman, marketing professor at DePaul University.
As much as candidates talk about issues and policies, voters consider how they feel about a candidate when they cast ballots, Newman said. Trust is the top issue when it comes to establishing a connection with the voter, he said.
So, what do the candidates’ images so far say about them?
“Rahm’s image is a guy who’s connected to the powerful and the wealthy and he’s seen as someone who’s been effective on different levels as mayor,” Newman said. “I think most see his image as that of a competent person.”
He said that image is conveyed through events like a news conference with NBA great Earvin “Magic” Johnson donating money for a city youth summer jobs program or President Obama hugging Emanuel when he designated Pullman area a national monument.
Garcia, on the other hand, is seen as a “populist responding to the needs of people that have not felt a sense of obligation and attention by the mayor to them,” Newman said. “Chuy represents the anti-Rahm vote.”
Garcia’s commercial with him standing in front of a shuttered school and the ad’s message of giving control of the schools to an elected board helped boost that image, he said.
They’re both trying to project a particular image of themselves and their opponent, said Dick Simpson, political science professor at the UIC who has contributed to Garcia’s campaign.
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For example, Emanuel is driving the image that he confronts tough problems and is able to get things done even though he’s not warm and fuzzy, Simpson said. But Garcia is trying to portray Emanuel as the 1 percent, he said.
Emanuel is hitting Garcia hard in attack ads as not being up to the job of mayor and lacks specific details on how to solve the city’s financial mess. Garcia, especially in his latest ad with him sitting on his front porch, is selling himself as a neighborhood guy who listens to residents.
With less than one week to go, the candidates are pushing their messages and images full steam ahead.
“What Chuy is trying to show is that he really does have a plan and is able to govern the city. What Rahm is trying to add to his image is that he really does know the neighborhoods and cares about them,” Simpson said.
“In one way,” Simpson said, “the campaign is a war of images.”
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