An early poll of likely Democratic voters in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District shows a three-way race emerging among Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, progressive journalist Kat Abughazaleh and State Sen. Laura Fine.

The internal poll was conducted by MDW Communications between June 12 and 15 for Abughazaleh’s campaign and was released Monday, first shared with Evanston Now.

The poll found that among likely Democratic voters in the district, 17% support Biss, with nearly 60% being familiar with him, the highest of any candidate.

Abughazaleh, 27, is the district’s Gen-Z newcomer who launched her surprise campaign to challenge Rep. Jan Schakowsky in March. She placed second in the poll with 10%. Her name recognition stands at 36%, according to the poll.

Fine, who represents a large portion of the congressional district in Springfield as state senator, trailed Abughazaleh closely in the poll with 8%. About 38% of polled voters recognize Fine’s name, the poll found.

MDW polled 899 likely Democratic voters via text message and said the results were weighted by age, gender and race “to reflect likely turnout in the March 2026 primary election.”

No other candidate received more than 5% in the poll.

The next three highest polling names were State Sens. Mike Simmons and Ram Villivalam and State Rep. Hoan Huynh. None of the three legislators have announced they’re running for the congressional seat, although some have been speculated as potential candidates.

Over half of voters remain undecided on their preferred candidate, still nearly nine months away from the March primary, according to the poll.

In a statement, Abughazaleh’s campaign manager, Sam Weinberg, said the poll “shows we have a real path to victory,” noting that “it won’t be easy … We know we’re the underdogs in this race.”

George Lundgren, Daniel Biss’ campaign manager, said, “while it’s nice to see confirmation that Daniel is the front runner in this race, there is a long way to go before voters have their final say.”

Fine’s campaign declined to comment when reached.

Schakowsky has held the seat since 1999 but announced in May that she would not be seeking reelection. She also said she has “no preference” for who could succeed her and has not endorsed a candidate so far.

The primary election is scheduled for March 17, 2026.