Rahm Emanuel (creative commons)

UPDATE: Rahm Emanuel was elected mayor of Chicago, the AP projected Tuesday night. 

The Wall Street Journal reports:

"With 86 percent of the precincts reporting, Mr. Emanuel was trouncing five opponents with 55 percent of the vote to avoid an April runoff. Mr. Emanuel needed more than 50 percent of the vote to win."

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It's Election Day in Chicago, and for the first time in decades, a Daley will not be among the candidates voters can cast their ballots for. Several candidates are looking to replace mayor Richard M. Daley, who announced last year he was retiring after a record tenure.

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is the clear front-runner in the race, and the real question in today's election may be whether Emanuel can get more than 50 percent of the vote and avoid a runoff. If he does not, the top two vote getters would face off again on April 5.  Polls show Emanuel close to the 50 percent threshold.

In total, six candidates are running to replace Daley. Emanuel's closest challengers are former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun and former Chicago board of education president Gerry Chico. The candidates spent Election Day doing some last minute campaigning.

"This is a critical election for the future of the city of Chicago. We're at a crossroads," Emanuel said while greeting commuters as a South Side train station.

Emanuel, who announced his candidacy last fall, endured a hard fought campaign which included questions about his residency and a legal challenge that ultimately landed in the Illinois State Supreme Court. The Court ruled at the end of January that Emanuel was eligible to run.

Voter turnout was expected at around 50 percent for today's municipal election, which is just slightly less than how many Chicago voters turned out in the midterm elections last year. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that number appears to be too high.

The Chicago Tribune reports that, so far, the election appears to be running relatively smooth.

Polls close at 7 p.m. CST.