Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) is projected to lose her bid for reelection, a stunning blow to an incumbent who made headlines as an underdog reformer candidate who defied expectations and won the city’s top job in 2019.

Lightfoot on Tuesday failed to be one of the top two vote-getters to notch a spot in the final round of voting in April, according to The Associated Press. A runoff was expected given the unlikeliness that any one candidate would outright win at least half of the vote on Tuesday.

Paul Vallas, former Chicago Public Schools CEO, and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson are projected to face each other in the April 4 runoff.

Despite being an incumbent in the race, Lightfoot was largely seen as an underdog. Recent polling either placed her in a statistical tie with or trailing one of the following candidates: former Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Paul Vallas; Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.); and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson. 

The Chicago mayor’s tenure has at times been colored by contentious relationships she’s had with individuals and groups like the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). 

Experts suggested ahead of the race that it wasn’t clear what type of constituency would vote for Lightfoot ahead of the race given some of the groups who had once backed her, including the city’s white and progressive-leaning North Side lakefront cohort, appeared less likely to endorse her again.