Biss, Elleson win in 9th District primaries, will face off in November
After a tough and expensive race, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss has won the Democratic Party’s primary for the 9th Congressional District seat long held by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky.
With an estimated 93% of ballots in the 14-way race counted, Biss had 34,793 votes, or nearly 30% of the total, unofficial results showed. That was enough for The Associated Press to declare him the victor.
Biss will face Republican John Elleson of Arlington Heights in November. Elleson topped the field in a four-way GOP primary.
As for the other Democrats, former internet personality Kat Abughazaleh of Chicago was in second place with 30,499 votes, or nearly 26% of the total. State Sen. Laura Fine of Glenview was third with 23,891 votes, or 20%.
No one else had at least 8% of the vote.
Biss thanked his supporters in a social media thread late Tuesday, calling the campaign an “amazing journey.”
“This was one of the most hard fought, closely watched primaries in the country because this district is a bellwether for the entire Democratic party,” Biss said.
The federal government’s immigration enforcement campaign was a defining issue in the race. Biss and Abughazaleh were among the demonstrators who protested outside the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement facility in Broadview; Abughazaleh and five other demonstrators were indicted on federal charges following one protest. Charges have since been dropped against two defendants, but Abughazaleh’s remain.
The war in Gaza was a top concern, too. Candidates sparred over whether the military action Israel launched after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks was warranted or genocidal. Additionally, a lobbying group called the American Israel Public Affairs Committee targeted Biss and Abughazaleh early in the race, and groups affiliated with it dropped big bucks campaigning against them.
“Tonight the 9th District made its voice heard loud and clear by rejecting AIPAC’s money and electing a true progressive fighter,” Biss said on social media after his victory was assured.
The Democratic primary was the most expensive U.S. House race in Illinois and among the costliest in the country. Biss had spent nearly $1.9 million on his campaign as of late February; Fine’s spending total was nearly $2.1 million. Both got help from special interests and endorsements from politicians across the Chicago area and the state.
Building a grass-roots campaign with small-dollar donations, Abughazaleh spent about $3 million without significant help from special interest groups or notable Illinois politicians. She did, however, get last-minute shout-outs from progressive U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
With 96% of ballots counted in the GOP race, Elleson was leading with 6,318 votes, followed by Paul Friedman with 4,306 votes, Rocio Cleveland with 1,174 votes; and Mark Su with 1,107 votes. None of the GOP hopefuls reported raising much money; neither Elleson nor Cleveland have filed federal financial reports.
Elleson, a pastor, thanked God in a brief Facebook post Tuesday night. He also noted a grandchild had stopped by to wish him luck.
The 9th District includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.