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The next Chicago mayor will either be a self-described political outsider who's never run for office, or a longtime city alderman and chair of the county's Democratic Party. Either way, for the first time, the city's top political official will be an African-American woman.

Former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle took the top spots in Tuesday night's tight race. They beat out 12 other candidates, many of whom entered the race after current Mayor Rahm Emanuel surprised the city by announcing in September he wouldn't run for a third term. Now Lightfoot, who earned 17.5 percent with 90,000 votes, and Preckwinkle, at 16 percent with 82,000 votes, will go head-to-head in a runoff election April 2.

They edged out William Daley, whose father and brother each served as mayor for over 20 years. Daley, who spent millions more than the other candidates, enjoyed wide name recognition but wasn't able to rise to the top of the field. He took third place with about 76,000 votes, or just shy of 15 percent of the total.

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Lightfoot comes across in person as reserved. But she dove into retail politicking and handshaking. Rather than relying solely on paid advertising, she went everywhere and met with everyone. She was on conservative talk radio in the morning and progressive talk radio in the afternoon. She went to high schools and churches and block clubs. She got in front of as many voters as possible.

She’s likable. She’s authoritative. She’s authentic. It worked.

Talking, talking and talking is a strategy not many campaign managers endorse. It’s too risky. Candidates might screw up or say something that can be twisted. Lightfoot broke that stricture too.

She also ran on ideas. While many candidates get away with brushing past specifics, Lightfoot on several controversial subject areas — curbing violence, overhauling the Chicago Police Department, encouraging affordable housing, reforming the City Council and expanding City Hall transparency, to name a few — offered detailed proposals. She answered questions straight on. She didn’t always stick to careful talking points.

How Lightfoot embraced running for mayor, and how Chicagoans citywide embraced her, brought refreshing change to Chicago politics. She broke the typical campaign template and won. We think she’ll govern just as capably.

Congratulations, Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot, and good luck.