Progressive Brandon Johnson is Chicago’s next mayor. Is that good news for Helen Gym in Philly?

Brandon Johnson, a progressive former teacher, was narrowly elected Chicago’s next mayor on Tuesday, beating Paul Vallas, a moderate Democrat and former Chicago schools chief who had Philadelphia ties and the support of the Chicago police union.

The win marks a huge victory for progressives in Chicago, where residents — as in Philadelphia — are grappling with high crime rates and mayoral candidates pitched different visions for the direction of the city.

Nationally, both progressives and moderate Democrats saw the Chicago race as a test of organizing power and successful messaging, particularly around crime.

But drawing inferences on what it could mean for Philadelphia’s mayoral race is tricky.

Crime is also the top issue here, but politically the race was far different. Mayoral elections are conducted differently in Chicago. Vallas and Johnson were in a head-to-head runoff that narrowed a broader field into a distinct choice between the political left and center-right. And in Philadelphia’s Democratic primary — which almost always determines the winner of the general election — voters have 11 candidates to choose from with more subtle political differences.

“I’d be careful drawing any conclusions, because the Chicago race was a one-on-one race, while the Philadelphia race is a multicandidate field,” said U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Philadelphia), who backed Johnson in the Chicago race and filmed a commercial for him, but hasn’t made an endorsement in Philadelphia. “In Chicago, a candidate had to get over 50% to win, while here someone can win with well below that.”

Chicago’s race means “zip” for the mayoral election here, said Larry Ceisler, a Philadelphia public relations consultant. “It’s a totally different dynamic. Paul [Vallas] was really running as a Republican. I think the only thing to learn from Chicago is that they have a better system of electing mayors. … We should have runoff or ranked choice voting in Philadelphia.”

Johnson is probably most similar to former Councilmember Helen Gym in the Philadelphia race — she’s also backed by the teachers union, seen as the most progressive in the field, and served in the local legislative body. But Johnson was a relative unknown when he started in the race, whereas Gym had developed a name in Philadelphia politics.

The racial politics are also different. Johnson, who is Black, ran in the runoff against Vallas, who is white. Gym is Asian, running in a Democratic primary field that includes several Black and white candidates and a Latina.

Gym on Wednesday applauded the outcome in Chicago.

“Chicago proves what we know: Safe, vibrant cities are cities that invest in people,” Gym said. “Like Chicago, Philly is currently dealing with the fallout of years of a failed status quo that closed schools, eliminated youth programming, and left our neighborhoods behind. That’s why I’m running on a different vision of what our city can be.”

While the matchups look a lot different, Johnson’s win could signal an appetite for progressive politics in urban blue cities and the strength of progressive organizing groups. Groups like Our Revolution, a powerful progressive advocacy organization, worked on the Johnson race and are making pushes in other local and state elections. Our Revolution backed Sen. John Fetterman, U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, and District Attorney Larry Krasner in their most recent elections. It’s unclear if the group will get involved in Philly’s mayoral race.

The national Working Families Party, which endorsed Gym in Philadelphia, invested $200,000 in the Chicago race. Its local Chicago chapter, United Working Families, knocked more than 555,000 doors and raised more than $400,000 for Johnson. Their resources and organizing efforts will likely help Gym in Philadelphia.

Chicago’s mayor’s race, unlike Philadelphia’s, is a nonpartisan election — meaning there is no primary, and Republicans, independents, and Democrats all vote. If no one gets 50% of the vote, the two candidates with the most votes, regardless of party, move on to the runoff. Johnson and Vallas advanced to the runoff after they finished as the top two candidates in the Feb. 28 election.

A Democrat like Vallas is unlikely to have done nearly as well in Philadelphia, where only registered Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary.

Vallas, who previously led the Philadelphia School District, ran as a law-and-order candidate and drew support from conservatives in the city. He received campaign donations from prominent Republicans, drawing criticisms from fellow Democrats that he was too conservative for Chicago. A clip of him proclaiming in 2009, “I am more of a Republican than a Democrat now” was featured in several attack ads against him.

Johnson, a Cook County commissioner, had the backing of the Chicago Teachers Union and high-profile endorsements from progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Sanders appeared at a rally for Johnson in the final days of the race.

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Johnson and Vallas ran on very different platforms — especially on crime.

Vallas, 69, said he would hire hundreds more police officers, while Johnson said he didn’t plan to cut the number of officers, but that the current system of policing isn’t working. Johnson was forced to defend past statements expressing support for “defunding” police — something he insisted he would not do as mayor.

But Johnson, 47, argued that instead of investing more in policing and incarceration, the city should focus on mental health treatment, affordable housing for all, and jobs for youth. He has proposed a plan he says will raise $800 million by taxing “ultrarich” individuals and businesses, including a per-employee “head tax” on employers and an additional tax on hotel room stays.

In Philadelphia, two-thirds of residents agree that the city does not have enough police officers — but residents are divided about whether spending more money on law enforcement would be an effective way to combat crime. Some of the mayoral candidates are distancing themselves from the movement to “defund the police,” and none of them have said they’re in favor of reducing the budget of the Philadelphia Police Department. But they have offered a variety of approaches on reducing violent crime.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.