Daniel Biss, the mayor of Evanston, has won the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, the Associated Press projected, emerging ahead in a crowded contest for a Chicago-area seat that has been held by the same representative for nearly 30 years.
Biss’s victory essentially settles a competitive primary with more than a dozen Democrats seeking to replace retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who first took office in 1999 and endorsed Biss. He also picked up national backing, including from Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Throughout the campaign he highlighted his experience in elected office and said he would both press progressive priorities and oppose President Trump’s agenda without compromise.
Political newcomer Kat Abughazaleh finished second, trailing by roughly four percentage points with more than 90% of precincts reported, according to the AP. The 26-year-old progressive researcher and commentator ran an anti-establishment campaign arguing Democrats need to deliver concrete results and change longtime party practices. If she had won, she would have been poised to become the first Gen Z woman elected to Congress. Biss, 48, is from Generation X, and generational questions were a noted factor in the race.
The contest was also shaped by debate over outside spending and the influence of pro-Israel groups connected to AIPAC. Individuals and organizations tied to those groups spent millions attacking Biss and backing state Sen. Laura Fine. Biss, who is Jewish, has criticized AIPAC even as he acknowledged meeting with the group early in his campaign; critics said he did not take a sufficiently clear stance on U.S. aid to Israel. Abughazaleh, who is Palestinian American, has strongly criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza and described them as genocidal.
Late in the campaign Biss faced scrutiny after a former student alleged an inappropriate romantic relationship. His campaign confirmed there was a relationship in 2004, when Biss was a 26-year-old postdoctoral instructor at the University of Chicago and the student was 20, saying he ended it and later regarded it as ill-advised.