Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks speaks at a press conference during the U.S. Conference of Mayors 90th Annual Meeting at the Peppermill Resort Hotel in Reno, Nev., Friday, June 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Tom R. Smedes)

Eleven candidates submitted petitions Monday to get on the ballot for next year’s Chicago mayoral race, ten of which aim to unseat incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Should all candidates be validated, Lightfoot’s ten opponents would be the most in a mayoral election where an incumbent is running since mayoral elections became nonpartisan in 1999. The 11 total candidates on the ballot would the second-most in any mayoral election in the nonpartisan era; 2019’s election had 14 candidates on the ballot.

For a candidate to submit their nomination petition, they must have at least 12,500 signatures of registered voters in Chicago. Five candidates submitted their petitions throughout Friday to enter a lottery for a chance to appear last on the ballot, which is rumored to be a premier spot for a bump in votes. Those candidates include Lightfoot (with a declared signature count over 40,000), U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (about 48,000 signatures declared), Chicago Police Department Officer Frederick Collins (40,000 signatures declared), Ald. Roderick Sawyer (who did not declare an amount) and counselor Johnny Logalbo (unknown amount).

Before Monday, six candidates filed their paperwork on Nov. 21 to enter a lottery to be the first candidate listed on the ballot, which also might have an advantage. Those include businessman Dr. Willie Wilson (over 61,000 signatures declared), Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson (about 42,000 signatures declared), former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas (41,000 signatures declared), Ald. Sophia King (37,000 signatures declared), community activist Ja’Mal Green (30,000 signatures declared) and state Rep. Kam Buckner (24,000 signatures declared).

For Collins, García, Green and Vallas, this is their second time running for mayor. For Wilson, this is his third time running after finishing third in 2015 and fourth in 2019.

Each campaign has the right to challenge the validity of another campaign’s signatures in an attempt to get them off the ballot, which WTTW’s Heather Cherone says puts candidates that did not submit at least three times the required amount at risk. This would include candidates like King, Green, Buckner and possibly Sawyer and Logalbo.

Crain’s Chicago Business reported Tuesday that Rickey Hendon, a campaign advisor to the Wilson campaign, will challenge Green’s petitions. Hendon claims he is challenging Green’s campaign for personal reasons and not for the sake of the Wilson campaign.

The race will be held on Feb. 28, and the next mayoral term will begin on May 15. Should no one receive 50% of the vote in the February election, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff that is scheduled for April 4, should it be needed.

Disclaimer: Brandon Johnson previously hosted a weekend program, “Sunday Mornings with Brandon Johnson,” on WCPT 820AM prior to his mayoral campaign. Rickey Hendon, a campaign advisor for Dr. Willie Wilson, previously hosted a weekend program, “The Rickey Hendon Show,” on WCPT prior to Wilson’s campaign. And Edwin Eisendrath, host of “The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath” on WCPT, endorsed U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García in the race. None of these influenced and will not influence Heartland Signal’s editorial process in covering the 2023 Chicago mayoral election.