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With the Democratic primary five months away, online content creator Kat Abughazaleh finds herself in a very different position than when she declared her candidacy for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District back in March.

She was the first person to challenge long-time incumbent U.S. Rep Jan Schakowsky, who hasn’t faced a primary challenge since 2012. But after the congresswoman announced her retirement in early May, the field exploded. As of last Friday (Sept. 26), there were 18 candidates in the race. 

Abughazaleh told the Journal & Topics that she wasn’t deterred by the large field, preferring to focus on the campaign. As candidates try to collect signatures to get on the ballot, she said that she is confident about her chances, and she says that she plans to hold more events and other outreach in the suburban parts of the district.

The 9th Congressional District currently stretches from the north side of Chicago to parts of suburban Cook, Lake and McHenry counties. In the Journal & Topics coverage area, it includes portions of Niles, Glenview, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights, Wheeling and Buffalo Grove. 

Abughazaleh was born in Dallas, Texas, to a Palestinian immigrant father and a mother whose family lived in the Dallas area for generations. Before launching her campaign, she worked as content creator, most notably for Media Matters of America, a left-leaning media watchdog. Abughazaleh previously said she decided to run because she believed that Democratic Party was too complacent in the face of the second Trump Administration, and because incumbents like Schakowsky were overdue for a primary challenge. 

When asked how she feels about the sheer number of candidates running to succeed Schakowsky, Abughazaleh said she prefers to focus on her own campaign.

“I’m just so thrilled to have a competitive primary,” she said. 

The candidates are currently in the process of circulating nominating petitions. The candidates are required to get at least 1,173 signatures from registered voters within the district. Abughazaleh said that, in keeping with the common campaign practice, she hopes to get at least twice as many signatures.

“We’re trying to get more than bare minimum, because we want to make sure we’re on the ballot, and we hope that every candidate who’s [running] can get there,” she said.

Abughazaleh said that the major reason why she decided to run in the first place is still valid.

“I think the people are ready for representatives who act rather than say things, and what we’re trying to show is that I am the candidate who will show up, I’m the candidate who will fight,” Abughazaleh told the Journal & Topics. “When [federal officials] want to push unconstitutional policies, I will be there to get in their way.”

In recent weeks, Abughazaleh took part in the protests at Immigration and Customs Service processing center in west suburban Broadview, which became a de facto detention facility amid increased enforcement. On Sept. 19, a video recording captured an ICE agent picking her up by a torso and slamming her to the ground. During the same protest, fellow 9th District candidates Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and Skokie School District 73.5 Board of Education member Bushra Amiwala were tear-gassed.

“What I really want to stress to people, if they’re willing to do that to me, in front of the press, what are they doing behind the facility’s boarded-up windows?” Abughazaleh said.

She said she believed that the Democratic leadership “hasn’t explored enough venues” to fight back.

“We also need the Democrats to take a stand, whether it’s breaking quorum or physically putting themselves between [federal officers] and their constituents,” Abughazaleh said. 

Over the past few months, Democratic U.S. senators and representatives who tried to inspect facilities where immigrants are detained have been turned away. Abughazaleh said that, if elected, she would not be easily deterred. 

“I will inspect federal facilities, and I will keep coming back,” she said. “If I’m not allowed in the Broadview facility, I will be there to inspect them again.”

Abughazaleh believes that getting back to the pre-Trump immigration status quo isn’t enough. If elected, she said she will push to abolish ICE altogether, and narrow the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency from 100 miles of any U.S. border — a radius that, example, includes Chicago. 

“If we want to be the strongest country that’s leading the world, we need to be welcoming immigrants, and make it easier, especially for someone who lived here for a while, someone who has a family, someone who’s been contributing to society, [and] getting them a path to citizenship,” Abughazaleh said.

Similarly, she believes that restoring Medicaid cuts approved this summer wouldn’t be enough — she is in favor of universal, government-run healthcare.

“It’s not enough to restore our old health system, because it wasn’t working enough for the majority of Americans,” Abughazaleh said.

Abughazaleh said, if elected, she will build on the 9th District office’s reputation for good constituent services and “update it.” And while she knows that, given the sheer size of 9th District, her constituents would have many different options, she said, “I don’t think you can compromise on basic human rights” or “acting like bad-faith arguments are in good faith.”

The 9th District includes the city and the suburbs with a significant Jewish population. Abughazaleh has been outspoken in her opposition to the war in Gaza, and stated in the past that, if elected, she would vote against U.S. military aid to Israel. She called for the ceasefire and the release of the hostages, and she denounced the May 21 killing of Israeli embassy workers in Washington, D.C., and June 1 flamethrower attack on the solidarity walk for Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado. 

Abughazaleh said that she believes that “the safety and the future” of Jews and Palestinians “has always been intertwined.”

“The greatest allies we’ve had as Palestinians in the fight for equal rights have been Jewish people,” she said. “When it comes to antisemitism, I will always, always speak out against it, just as I will always, always, speak out against murder of innocents.”

From the get-go, Abughazaleh said that she was planning to run “a different kind of campaign.” At a campaign launch event, the price of admission was sanitary products. She said that she continues the approach of using campaign events to raise money for organizations she supports, as well as to collect donations.

“We want, within our power, for people to be fed, clothed, so they have access to what they need, when they need it,” she said.

So far, much of Abughazaleh’s local outreach focused on Chicago’s north side, where her campaign office is located, and neighboring Evanston. She said that the campaign plans more events and outreach further west, as well as to set up a satellite office at the west end of the district once her campaign has the resources to fully staff it.

“Our campaign office is open to everyone except ICE,” Abughazaleh added.

The post First Candidate To Challenge Schakowsky Persists In Crowded Field first appeared on Journal & Topics Media Group.

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September 30, 2025 at 03:07PM