CHICAGO: A Palestinian-American journalist and social media influencer is tied for first place among 16 other candidates in the March 2026 Democratic primary election for the ninth Illinois congressional district seat.
Kat Abughazaleh, whose father and grandparents originate in Gaza and Bethlehem, was the first to announce her candidacy when incumbent Jan Schakowsky announced her retirement, having been elected in 1998.
Abughazaleh has so far raised more than $1 million for her campaign, dwarfing the fundraising of all but one of her rivals, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss.
Both she and Biss have renounced donations from the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has poured money into the candidacy of Laura Fine.
Abughazaleh, who graduated from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs in 2020, told Arab News that her popularity is in part driven by her humanity “for all of the victims” of the Gaza war, both Israeli and Palestinian.
“My whole point of view, no matter the country, is that every civilian deserves to live a safe life, that no child deserves to go to bed hungry,” she said.
“Anyone who commits war crimes, and it doesn’t matter what flag they’re under … they need to be accountable,” she added.
“People want to talk about how this issue is too complex to get into, but it’s not that complicated. Civilians must be protected.”
Abughazaleh said: “When people are looking at what’s happening in Gaza and the West Bank, there’s the basic humanity of it, and the frustration that so many people in America are struggling with.
“So many of our tax dollars go to bomb civilians and we’re not following our own laws. We’re supposed to investigate any ally we give money or weapons to if they use that money or weapons to commit war crimes. People just want our country to follow its own laws.”
Abughazaleh was referring to the Leahy Act, which prohibits any foreign country from using American funds or arms in “gross violation of human rights.”
She said her message that the priority is to achieve peace, security and safety for all resonates with voters in the district. A recent poll reflects that trend, showing her and Biss in a tight battle for first place.
Although both have said they will not accept money from AIPAC, almost half of the money raised by Fine has come from the lobby group.
“I’ve never seen people care about Palestinian rights for this long,” Abughazaleh said, adding that in the past, “we’ve seen strikes against civilians, then there’s outrage for a few days and then it dies down once there’s a ceasefire.
“But what we’ve seen in Gaza — and to be clear, we haven’t seen the full extent of it as journalists haven’t been allowed in, as international investigators haven’t been allowed in — when that eventually happens, we’ll see horrors beyond our comprehension.”
She said both American public opinion and the attitude of the Democratic Party have changed significantly as a consequence of the Gaza war.
“I wish it didn’t take this many lives to get here, but we’re here, and that’s why I think it’s really important,” she added.
While Gaza is dominant among voters in the congressional race, Abughazaleh said other issues are also of concern, including the crackdowns, arrests and expulsions of undocumented residents.
“Democracy is clearly the top issue followed by basic rights, housing and affordability,” she said, adding that healthcare is another major concern for Americans.
Noting that nearly half of the members of the US Congress are millionaires, she explains on her website KatForIllinois.com: “We deserve representatives who face the same challenges we do or at least have some time in the last decade.
“They don’t deal with out-of-pocket prescription costs or nightmarish rent hikes or existential fear about their lives in 50 years. You and I do.”
The congressional district’s boundaries begin in Chicago and include Evanston, home to the prestigious Northwestern University.
They also include parts of Skokie, Buffalo Grove and Algonquin, suburban areas that have both Jewish and growing Muslim and Arab populations.
