So THIS is the interesting trend! We have seen in recent elections that men across the board tend to vote for populist candidates more than women. We saw this in the New York mayoral primary with Zohran Mamdani. In #IL09, Kat Abughazaleh did better with men than women. Platner does better with men
Daniel Biss on @thebulwark.com today said meeting with AIPAC early in the #IL09 campaign was a "dumb idea" and recommends Democrats don't do so going forward
"I would recommend that candidates not meet with them because I don't think they can be trusted to operate in good faith"
A still from Kat Abughazaleh’s campaign comic, showing her with her cat, Heater.
The cat was a nice touch :)
#katcomics #il09 #Heater
Still discussing #IL09, if anyone wants to know how deep I am into local politics.
I will have a substack coming soon about of this whole mess.
While the desire for change is strong for progressive policies. The electorate must be more prudent to prevent GOP ops from parachuting in as “leaders”.
Hottest take now that the dust has settled: Bushra’s decision to stay in the race is totally understandable given she is actually from the area and she got bigfooted by Kat thanks to a lot of national media attention. She had waited her turn and then got the short shrift. #IL09
Need someone to put a poll out to determine what percentage of #il09 voters know who the woke ginger is, and then how may use him to make Election Day decisions.
And now Elect Chicago Women super PAC, which funded millions of ads in #IL09 and #IL08, also funded over $4 million by AIPAC's United Democracy Project
This is confirmation of months of mine and other's reporting that AIPAC was behind these super PACs
docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...
With Hoan Huynh running for #IL09 (and getting a whopping 2% of the vote), his #HD13 on the north side of Chicago featured an open primary on Tuesday.
In the end, Army vet Demi Palecek won out, with the progressive turning back some seriously strong opposition to win by 14%.
“Thank you to every single one of the thousands of Illinoisans who poured into this historic effort. I entered this race last July to fight for the communities that raised me on the Far North Side of Chicago and north and northwest suburbs: the communities that shaped me into the first Ethiopian-American and first LGBTQ+ person to serve in our State Senate, and the same communities that are under existential threat by the Trump Administration. I’m proud that our campaign put these communities at the forefront and that so many people, from Uptown to Morton Grove to Crystal Lake, found a home in this coalition. I’m proud to have run a campaign based on integrity, based on real issues, using plainspoken language to say what we’ve done, what we will do, and the challenges that exist in our communities - and the truth is, people responded to that. I’m honored and absolutely humbled by every vote this campaign received. Voters across the district responded to this campaign and its message that lifted up ordinary people across the 9th District, and energetically advocated for bold policy and new ways of doing politics. This campaign showed me that we don’t have to do things the old way – voters are tired of business as usual and are ready to shake up the system. That includes our broken campaign finance system that keeps working class perspectives behind walls of wealth and privilege. These barriers prop up the status quo cycle after cycle and contribute to keeping Congress out of touch with real people and new ideas. Our fight must continue for authentic representation that reflects our struggles, stands up to Big Money and bigotry, and meaningfully improves people's lives. This campaign has provided me with focus and fuel for the necessary work to come. The pep is still in my step to continue this work in the Illinois Senate and, now with even more clarity, pressure our federal officials in Washington to do the same. Thank you to every voter, every supporter, and my…
First comments from State Sen. Mike Simmons after placing fourth in #IL09 Democratic primary on Tuesday:
Simmons remains a state senator and is up for reelection in 2028
Here’s the $500,000 @ElectDemWomen used on a big ad buy for State Sen. Laura Fine in #IL09
Not an identifiable donor, but instead just a foundation
(This is different from the Elect Chicago Women super PAC that spent several million)
docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...
As someone with a ton of family and friends in #IL09, can confirm
The Biss comparison is apt. #IL09 is similar to the Maryland Suburbs with an upper-class affluent white group of voters and a large progressive Jewish-American contingent. Also, Schakowsky came out early in support of a ceasefire in Gaza.
With her boyfriend, in his Chicago $4000-a-month apartment on North Michigan Avenue, last I checked.
Which is not in #IL09 :
www.congress.gov/members/map
A well-written piece by @parkermolloy.com on her fellow former Media Matters For America colleague @katmabu.bsky.social's run for #IL09 and close 2nd place finish.
www.readtpa.com/p/what-if-we...
This one precinct in Buffalo Grove was really undecided in #IL09
Abughazaleh 64
Fine 64
Biss 63
Votehub has 100% of precincts in their 3d vote density map of #IL09
@coleurbanist.bsky.social @mrscottroberts.bsky.social
votehub.com/2026_il09_pr...
The field was split between 19 candidates. She spent the most money. Her boyfriend & his associates like his co-podcaster Brandy Zadrozny gave her 24/7 nationwide (worldwide, even) free media.
She still lost, because she'd never set foot in #IL09 until after she announced her run to be its MoC.
Here's my analysis:
#IL09 showed the uselessness of Bluesky as an organizing tool, or even for spreading last-minute smears.
The Affair to Remember smear never got past the confines of Bluesky or Substack.
Evanston precinct level results for #IL09
results326.cookcountyclerkil.gov/Home/Detail?...
Full #IL09 precinct map as of 5:45 p.m. Wednesday
(reposting bc it was screwed up)
datawrapper.dwcdn.net/eNyXK/20/
Here's how the city of Evanston voted in last night's #IL09 primary.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss was able to win his home city thanks to big wins among white voters. However, Kat Abughazaleh was able to win big with Northwestern students and kept it close elsewhere.
What a wild year it's been with a fascinating #IL09 race, with so many twists and turns, up until *literally* the very last moment
Bushra Amiwala on yesterday's result in #IL09:
"A lot of people had a lot to say about this campaign. They don't live here. You do. And your vote means more to me than any headline or hashtag ever could."
LCV Action Fund Victory Graphic for Daniel Biss (IL-09)
#LCVAF congratulates @danielbiss.bsky.social on his victory in the #IL09 primary election last night!
As Trump continues to threaten our environment and free and fair elections while energy prices continue to skyrocket for working families, we need to elect candidates like him to Congress.
Do you live in #IL09?
There’s the 🚪…
Now this is how to make a concession speech, when the nation is in turmoil.
Watch the whole thing, or at least starting here where #KatAbughazaleh has a message for the current #TrumpRegime:
youtu.be/PpTG3VgBGcE?...
This is only the start. #IL09 was the warm-up.
@katmabu.bsky.social
an orange and white cardboard fried chicken container that says “popeyes” inside are four pieces of fried chicken and a biscuit
who wants to join me for some petty’s — i mean — popeyes?! i got it in edgewater bc i couldn’t get it in evanston 🤭 #IL09 #IL-09
We have #IL09 precinct results in Lake and McHenry, but nothing from Cook yet, though all 222 precincts are reporting
Waiting for precinct results outside of Chicago, but in #IL09, all was as expected
Fine cleaned up the more conservative areas in West Ridge, Abughazaleh did very well elsewhere, but Biss won a few lakefront precincts in the 48th Ward (including areas around Loyola)
