WASHINGTON — Progressive influencer Kat Abughazaleh’s bid for election to Congress failed Tuesday after Democratic major voters opted for Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss.
Biss’ victory got here solely hours after his marketing campaign confirmed the mayor had a relationship with a former pupil whereas working as a professor on the College of Chicago in 2004.
Abughazaleh, who previously labored for left-wing group Media Issues in conducting opposition analysis in opposition to conservative shops, was certainly one of 15 Democrats jockeying to succeed retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Unwell.) within the Land of Lincoln’s ninth District, which covers elements of Chicago and its northwestern suburbs.
The 26-year-old also called Kat Abu achieved minor on-line infamy for a collection of stunts — together with getting herself arrested and charged with conspiracy to impede Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) automobiles throughout a September 2025 demonstration in Broadview, Unwell.
She obtained about 26% of the vote in comparison with Biss’ 30% assist when the Related Press referred to as the race simply after 10:35 p.m. ET.
The feds accused Abughazaleh of scrawling the phrase “PIG” on an ICE officer’s automobile, whereas footage of the confrontation confirmed an officer throwing her to the bottom.
Abughazaleh pleaded not responsible and ripped the cost as an “try by the Trump administration to criminalize protest and punish those that dare to talk up.”
Each Abughazaleh and Biss assist abolishing ICE and enacting a single-payer healthcare system. A Palestinian-American, Abughazaleh additionally attacked her rival for not being laborious sufficient on Israel — even highlighting Biss’ assembly with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee earlier within the marketing campaign.
Biss sought to tell apart himself from Abughazaleh by specializing in his expertise as a politician, which included eight years within the Illinois legislature and a failed run for governor in 2018.
The race divided Democrats in Washington, with Biss profitable the backing of Schakowsky in addition to Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairman Greg Casar (D-Texas), former CPC Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
Abughazaleh received assist from “Squad” Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), in addition to Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
Just lately, Abughazaleh confronted controversy over revelations that she grew up in a $3.3 million Dallas mansion regardless of continuously portraying herself as coming from humble origins.
“Am I poor? Proper now, yeah,” she advised NBC Chicago final week. “I’ve depleted my financial savings. I’ve been financially unbiased since I used to be 21.”
Earlier this yr, the influencer confronted controversy after she doozed via a digital discussion board, which she blamed on narcolepsy-induced “sleep assaults.”
In the meantime, Biss was accused by Megan Wachspress of getting a relationship along with her when she was a arithmetic and political science main at UChicago in a Bluesky and Substack publish on Monday.
A spokesperson for the aspiring congressman stated in a press release late Monday that Biss was 26 and Wachspress was 20 when the “ill-advised relationship” came about. He was not married on the time.
Biss can be closely favored to maintain the seat in Democratic palms in November. A Republican has not been elected to symbolize the ninth District since 1946.
