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Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss wins Illinois’ 9th District Democratic House primary

WBEZ Chicago - WBEZ Chicago [Unofficial] March 18, 2026

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss told supporters "there's a lot to fight for" Tuesday night, emerging victorious after securing the Democratic nomination for a congressional seat long held by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who he called his "political hero."

"Those with money have too much political power," Biss said as he declared victory. "And they use that political power to rig the system for themselves. It's time for a Congress that asserts itself."

Biss said his victory shows the election "can't be bought," a reference to the role the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee played in the campaign for Illinois' 9th District Congressional seat.

Biss’ victory caps one of the most competitive races Illinois has seen in years, with 15 Democrats**** scrambling for a seat that opened up for the first time**** since 1999. Former journalist Kat**** Abughazaleh came closest to Biss in the vote count, followed by state Sen. Laura Fine.

Biss’ win means the seat is now on track to be held by Schakowsky’s chosen candidate. Schakowsky said Tuesday she was happy with the way the election was working out. She also said she thinks Biss will have Democrats to work with**** to take on President Donald Trump.

“This is going to be a great moment for [Biss],” Schakowsky said, “and I think that Democrats have a really bright future. I know he’s going to do a terrific job.”

Daniel Biss delivers a victory speech after being named the winner of the Democratic primary in the 9th District Illinois House race.

Manuel Martinez/WBEZ

Biss will face Republican**** pastor**** John Elleson**** in November’s general election. But the seat is seen as reliably Democrat. Before Schakowsky, Democrat**** Sidney**** R. Yates**** held it for 24 terms, with a two-year gap prompted by an unsuccessful Senate bid.

The 9th Congressional District includes several North Side neighborhoods, including Uptown, Edgewater,**** Andersonville and Rogers Park. It also includes several north and northwestern suburbs, including Evanston, Skokie, Glenview, Algonquin, Prospect Heights and Fox River Grove.

Biss is a former mathematician, state representative and state senator who was elected Evanston mayor in 2021. He ran for governor in 2018 and landed a distant second behind now-Gov. JB Pritzker. As mayor, Biss enacted an ordinance to curb carbon emissions and came up with a comprehensive housing plan for the north suburb.

He paints himself as both an activist and a lawmaker, and said he thinks the dual role is what defined him in the race. The mayor got into a heated clash with U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino**** at an Evanston gas station last December, and he later described Bovino as**** a “condescending, sarcastic liar.”

But Biss wasn’t the only candidate to spar with federal agents during last fall’s deportation campaign, known as Operation Midway Blitz. Abughazaleh**** faces a federal conspiracy**** indictment**** tied to protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility**** in Broadview.

She faces trial along with three others May 26.

Kat Abughazaleh gives a concession speech after Daniel Biss was named the winner in the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 9th District U.S. Congressional seat.

Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times

Teary eyed, Abughazaleh conceded in front of a crowd in Andersonville on Tuesday and told the supporters that the last year was not for nothing.

"We forced our opponents to the left and to be more aggressive against this administration," she said. "We did all of this together from the ground up with everything against us."

"I'm sorry that this sucks," Abughazaleh added. "But f--- Trump, f--- ice, free Palestine, I love you."

Abughazaleh supporter Jessica**** Lui said the candidate “changed the conversation around what a Democrat can be.” Charles Douglas, executive director of the Seattle-based political action nonprofit Common Power, called her "an example for other candidates for the rest of the country."

Abughazaleh moved to Illinois in 2024, and her opponents tried to paint her as an outsider. Abughazaleh said her grandparents were survivors of the mass displacement of Palestinians in 1948 and immigrated to Chicago. Her grandfather went back to the Middle East and brought her dad to Chicago. She recently learned that her grandfather was an aide to the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, “providing oversight against financial corruption” in the late 1960s.

The other Democrats who ran for the 9th District seat included Skokie School District 73.5 board member Bushra Amiwala; former FBI agent Phil Andrew; state Sen. Mike Simmons; economist Jeff Cohen; state Rep. Hoan Huynh, former federal prosecutor Nick Pyati; veteran Sam Polan; civil rights attorney Howard Rosenblum; Evanston resident Bethany** __Johnson; union organizer Justin __**Ford; Patricia A. Brown; and Mark Arnold Fredrickson.

Fine has served in the state Senate since 2018 and previously served in the Illinois House. She first ran for office after her husband was in a car accident and their health insurance policy was canceled. She became an expert in insurance policy and brought that knowledge to the Illinois House.

State Sen. Laura Fine, Democratic primary candidate for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, shows off her “I Voted!” sticker after voting at the Vi at The Glen retirement community in Glenview on Tuesday.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Contributing: Tina Sfondeles

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