Mayor Daley vs. Jesse Jackson Junior?

As reported here over the weekend, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is posturing for a possible run for mayor of Chicago.

Richard M. Daley has been mayor for 16 years and is having a pretty tough year, as scandal upon scandal chips away at his reputation. He's not up for re-election for another two years, but it's a very safe bet his next re-election campaign won't be the cakewalk his last one was. In 2003, Daley received almost 80% of the vote.

Andy Shaw of ABC 7 Chicago does some very-early Chicago election handicapping in this article. Although he hasn't announced his plans, it's expected Daley will run again. The only candidate to declare for this race is William "Doc" Walls, an advisor to former Mayor Harold Washington. A Yahoo! search on Walls turned up nothing, so he can clearly and fairly be called an unknown.

Then there's Jesse Jackson, Jr. Like Daley, hasn't declared his 2007 intentions either, but I'm sure if he thinks he has a chance to win, Junior will run.

Here's J.J. Junior's strength--and weakness: The Rainbow/Push Coalition army led by his father, the Reverend Jesse Jackson. It will certainly turn out in force in hopes of making Junior the next Chicago mayor.

I believe, thankfully, Chicago has come a long way from the days when race was a dominating factor in voters' electoral decisions. If Junior runs, however, Rainbow/Push and Jesse Sr. will probably be an issue for him. A lot of people, not all of them white, simply just don't like the Reverend Jesse. Also, Rainbow/Push and it's predecessors have had legal troubles over the years; it's most recent transgression led to a $100,000 fine from the Federal Elections Commission fine just two months ago.

Then there is Rainbow/Push itself: A very hard left organization. The Democratic Party for the most part owns Chicago, but there are many social conservatives living in the Windy City.

My opinion? If Jesse Junior does run, he won't just be running against Richard Daley.