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Chicago has a new nonpartisan mayoral candidate, but get ready for the ‘MAGA’ label anyway

July 31, 2026 | | Print Article

Chicago has a new nonpartisan mayoral candidate, but it won’t take long for the opposition to hit him with the ‘MAGA’ label given his commonsense platform.

John Kelly has deep roots in the Windy City, and he announced his bid this week to replace Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), who you could argue has been a disaster. Kelly, who has lobbied for the Chicago White Sox, Bally’s and the United Center, is running on a platform focused on “safe streets, property taxes families can afford, schools that teach kids to read, and transit you can count on.”

And, with the second-largest war chest of anyone in the field, Kelly must be seen as a serious candidate — even if he is white.

“Today, I announced my campaign for Mayor of Chicago. I love this city too much to accept where we are today. Chicagoans deserve safer streets, a reliable CTA, stable property taxes and schools that prepare our kids for success,” Kelly posted on X, while sharing an introduction video.

In the video, Kelly is seen riding the L-train, explaining the car is almost empty because Chicagoans are “afraid” to ride the train anymore. He points out that there used to be 400 police officers riding the trains to ensure safety and that he will put them back, explaining that Mayor Johnson has 154 police officers tasked with providing him security.

He is married to Julie Kelly, a political commentator and senior contributor to American Greatness.

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The “Libs of Chicago” X account commented on Kelly: “I haven’t officially made up my mind on who I’d support to be the next mayor of Chicago so don’t take this as an endorsement. I’ve already seen the Socialist in Chicago have a melt down over Kelly, Mendoza & even Wilson. They label them MAGA as though that’s a bad thing simply because they know the low-informed ppl will just run with it.

“I haven’t looked a lot into Kelly & what his policies are but it’s hard to argue with much from this video. The most important to me is he didn’t say black, white, Trump, ICE or tax the rich. He did say Chicago & Chicagoans though, that’s extremely rare to hear from Mayor Johnson or his comrades in city council.”

Here’s a sampling of other responses to the story, as seen on X — including Dan Bongino responding to a post from Julie Kelly:

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Tom Tillison
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