Biss, Elleson lead in 9th Congressional races

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss was leading Tuesday night in the Democratic Party’s primary for the 9th Congressional District seat long held by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky.

With an estimated 79% of ballots in the 14-way race counted, Biss had 29,123 votes, or 30% of the total, unofficial results showed.

If the pace holds, Biss could go on to face Arlington Heights resident John Elleson in November. Elleson was ahead in the four-way Republican primary.

As for the other Democrats, former internet personality Kat Abughazaleh of Chicago was in second place with 24,211 votes, or 25% of the total. State Sen. Laura Fine of Glenview was third with 19,586 votes, or 20%.

No one in the rest of the pack had more than 8% of the vote.

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.

The Democratic primary was the most expensive U.S. House race in Illinois and among the costliest in the country. The leading candidates and independent groups spent millions on TV ads, mailers, staff, polls and more.

Biss and Fine had plenty of support from individual donors as well as political action committees. Both got endorsements from politicians across the Chicago area and the state, too.

Abughazaleh built a well-funded, grass-roots campaign 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 46% of ballots counted in the GOP race, Elleson was leading with 4,373 votes, followed by Paul Friedman with 3,057 votes, Rocio Cleveland with 833 votes; and Mark Su with 832 votes. None of the GOP hopefuls reported raising much money; Cleveland and Elleson haven’t even filed federal disclosure reports.

The 9th District includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.