Bruce Leon is staying in the race for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District after all, confirming to the RoundTable on Thursday that he has not withdrawn after initially ending his campaign last week under pressure from AIPAC and some local Orthodox rabbis.
Bruce Leon, Chicago’s 50th Ward Democratic Committeeman, waits on Oct. 27 to file paperwork to run for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District. Credit: Alex Harrison Thursday was the state’s deadline for candidates to remove themselves from the March 17 primary ballot, and that cutoff came and went without any of the 17 Democrats or four Republicans running for the seat exiting the race. The packed field is running to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who has represented the 9th District in Washington since 1999.
Leon, who serves as Chicago’s 50th Ward Democratic Committeeman, decided to “temporarily suspend” his campaign just before the new year “amidst tremendous political pressure from Washington D.C. interests.” He later named those “interests” as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the largest pro-Israel lobbying group in the country, which he said has been pressuring him since his launch last July to exit the race and consolidate support behind state Sen. Laura Fine.
Though he initially planned to stay out of the race for good, he told the RoundTable last week that he was exploring ways to get back in. When the RoundTable asked him via text Thursday whether he was staying in or dropping out, Leon simply responded: “In.”
The decision indicates Leon was able to curry some favor back from a group of Orthodox rabbis who had previously endorsed him before asking him to drop out last month. Leon said last week that this group had joined AIPAC in arguing that a win by Fine’s leading opponents, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and Kat Abughazaleh, would increase the risk of antisemitic violence in his community.
“I need them to move back and to say, ‘At the end of the day, maybe we should just let everybody run,’” Leon told the RoundTable last week.
AIPAC did not respond to an email requesting comment on Leon’s decision to stay in the race, and on his description of the lobbying group’s argument concerning antisemitic violence if Biss or Abughazaleh won.
The organization’s efforts to convince Leon to exit drew condemnation from several of his fellow candidates, who jointly signed a message with him calling out “coordinated pressure campaigns” and a “lack of transparency” around outside influences in the race. While AIPAC has pushed for Fine as its preferred candidate and reportedly solicited donations to her campaign, the lobbying group has not officially endorsed her or otherwise publicly engaged in the race.
“We do not believe candidates should be coerced, intimidated, or pressured to leave a race by outside actors,” the statement reads. “Decisions about who runs for office should be made by the candidates themselves and, ultimately, by voters at the ballot box.”
The signatories include Leon, Biss, Abughazaleh, Skokie School District 73.5 board member Bushra Amiwala, former FBI agent Phil Andrew, environmental public health professional Justin Ford, economist Jeff Cohen and former federal prosecutor Nick Pyati.
Voting in the primary election will begin with mail ballots being sent out starting Feb. 5, and early voting at the Robert Crown Community Center will start March 2.
Leon will stay in congressional race, reversing prior exit is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston’s most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.
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