By Eliana Melmed Photography, used via CC BY 4.0, |
Max Rice, Republican candidate for 9th Congressional District in Nov. 8, 2022 election. |
The first candidate in the crowded field to succeed long-time incumbent U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-9th) ended up being the only candidate to get her petitions challenged.
Content creator Kat Abughazaleh was notably the first candidate to challenge Schakowsky in the Democratic primary, before the congresswoman decided to retire. Since then, the field grew significantly, with 16 more Democrats and four Republicans filing to run.
Once the nominating petitions are filed, any registered voter who lives in the 9th District, including any candidate in the race, can challenge the petitions. Abughazaleh had her petitions challenged by Maxwell Rice, of Chicago, who ran against Schakowsky as a Republican in 2022 and lost the 2018 9th District Republican primary.
For this race, candidates must collect at least 1,173 signatures from registered voters living in the district to qualify. Objectors usually try to disqualify enough signatures to dip below the minimum, which can be on the basis that the voter information doesn’t match voter records. Objectors also sometimes seek to disqualify entire petition sheets by, among other factors, alleging that they weren’t properly notarized or that the circulators (the people passing out the petitions) don’t fit the legal requirements. There have also been cases where petition sheets were disqualified because candidates used the wrong type of binding.
Because of this, candidates tend to try to collect at least three times the legal minimum. Abughazaleh’s campaign previously announced that they collected “over 5,000” signatures. In a statement to Journal & Topics, spokesperson Sam Weinberg reiterated that point and added that “we look forward to being on the ballot.”
The post Abughazaleh’s Candidacy Challenged By Former Schakowsky Opponent first appeared on Journal & Topics Media Group.
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November 14, 2025 at 05:29PM
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