Illinois progressive Congress member attracts Gen-Z challenger

CHICAGO — A progressive social media influencer announced a run for Congress on Monday in the Chicago-area district held by Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky, citing frustration with Democratic Party leadership.

“I don't think the Democratic Party right now is doing enough. [Sen.] Chuck Schumer backing down on the funding bill was just disgusting, frankly, and we can't keep going that way,” Kat Abughazaleh, who announced her run on the Bluesky social network, said in an interview.

Schakowsky, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has represented the area for decades. The Illinois Democrat, who is 80, has yet to announce whether she’ll seek reelection.

Abughazaleh covered the Democratic National Convention as a social media influencer and before that worked at the liberal watchdog group Media Matters For America.

She gained fame on TikTok for her biting political humor, and her videos were published by the liberal magazine Mother Jones, where she critiqued Fox News for how it covered then-Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential run.

Abughazaleh's move into Illinois politics comes amid widespread frustration with the party among progressive Democrats. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has recently encouraged progressives to run as independent candidates and ditch the unpopular Democratic label.

Abughazaleh moved to the Chicago area in July but voted in the 2024 election in Washington, D.C., because her lease wasn’t yet up, she told POLITICO. She said she registered to vote in Illinois last month and currently lives outside the district but plans to move into the district “soon.”

“The district itself is really, really, really cool, and I think that it deserves more options for representation,” Abughazaleh told POLITICO. “Since 1998, there hasn't been a competitive primary. I was born in 1999. So I think a huge problem with why we're in this mess — with rising fascism, with ineffective Democrats — is just because we aren't giving voters more options. There's not enough diversity of thoughts or how we can change the establishment.”

Schakowsky recently said that she’s mulling her next move, saying she’s still “ready to fight” but acknowledges age is a factor in her deliberations.

"Take out the word progressive, and let’s talk about what we mean,” Schakowsky said. “We talk about it as if you have to be a progressive to be for these kinds of things that help people. We have to be better at talking about them.”

Schakowsky was first elected to the 9th Congressional District in 1998, after serving eight years in the Illinois General Assembly. In her primary that year, she defeated then-businessperson JB Pritzker, who went on to become the state’s governor in 2019.

Should Schakowsky not seek reelection, a number of notable Illinois Democrats would likely be interested in the seat, including state Sen. Laura Fine and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, who both represent constituents in the district.CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report included a photo caption that misidentified the subject as Rep. Jan Schakowsky.