I think that's the part that candidates aren't getting. This man is getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in free press coverage because of the stunts he pulls and more importantly because there is no one else that has declared themselves as in the running. No one is a fan of Lightfoot, so he is being cast as the only alternative to the status quo, which is ironic given that he is basically a less progressive, less-educated, incorrigible version of Lori Lightfoot/Eric Adams.
I know this but this time feels different. Lori put gasoline on the fire by copying his style with the transit card/gas giveaways. He may not win but he'll get more than 10% this time around.
I feel like this reinforces my point about Wilson's current appeal though. He uses his publicity stunts and giveaways to appeal to uninformed voters and appear like a populist, but voted for Rauner and Trump and will not publicly say that Biden won the presidential election fairly. His skin color gives him the cover to carry the black vote and appear moderate in spite of anti-Democratic policies.
