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 91% of ballots in the 14-way race counted, Biss had 32,869 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 28,524 votes, or nearly 26% of the total. State Sen. Laura Fine of Glenview was third with 22,610 votes, or 20%.

No one else had at least 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. 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 91% of ballots counted in the GOP race, Elleson was leading with 5,562 votes, followed by Paul Friedman with 3,845 votes, Rocio Cleveland with 1,072 votes; and Mark Su with 1,027 votes. None of the GOP hopefuls reported raising much money; neither Elleson nor Cleveland have filed federal financial reports.

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