Illinois 9th Congressional District - Jan Schakowsky has a primary challenger in the form of Kat Abughazeleh. Schakowsky is the right Democrat for these types of primary challenges: 80 years old, been in office for as long as her challenger has been alive, and a district with a vote share over 65%. As a former resident of the Chicago sub…
Illinois 9th Congressional District - Jan Schakowsky has a primary challenger in the form of Kat Abughazeleh. Schakowsky is the right Democrat for these types of primary challenges: 80 years old, been in office for as long as her challenger has been alive, and a district with a vote share over 65%. As a former resident of the Chicago suburbs I'll be watching this one closely.
I'm in IL-9 and curious to see how this one plays out. I'm certainly open to voting for a primary challenger. Schakowsky's great but it may be time for someone younger.
It's an interesting district, really a slice (literally) of Chicagoland. It includes Uptown, Edgewater, and Rogers Park in the city. These are North Side neighborhoods but not the most expensive ones. Then it grabs a mix of pretty progressive inner burbs (Evanston, Skokie), wealthier middle burbs (Glenview, bits of Des Plaines), and some light red areas (Niles and outer burbs near Algonquin). Completely safe D regardless of nominee. The cross-section it provides should be an interesting test case for this kind of primary.
I'm interested to see if the CW will hold true in this environment that the suburbs aren't fond of Firebrands like Kat. I think my best friend from Middle School is in this district and I used to live in Gurnee so I know the area. I hope this is just the first of many.
Also, running a firebrand primary challenge against one of the most progressive members of Congress won’t work particularly well imo, unless if people are just voting based on wanting change regardless of ideology.
I think age is an issue that we shouldn't sweep under the rug. It also is not automatically disqualifying.
We already had two older representatives die this congress and the longer old representatives stay around the higher the chances that they will do the same. There is a demand from voters for some level of generational changeover, especially from the democratic part of the electorate. Right now there are 15 members of the house that are 80+ years old, and 12 of them are democrats.
It's also a lot easier to ensure a like-minded progressive successor if an official retires on a reasonable time table on their own terms while they still have influence over the process.
I believe that generational change is going to be a big theme in the 2026 elections. You'll have nearly a half a century age gap between the two candidates. Whether or not she'll be a good congressperson and can adjust to the role remains to be seen and it's not like Kat isn't progressive either. I think all things being equal if you can upgrade the position with a slightly more progressive candidate but 50 years younger, I think you go for it. We'll see how it works out.
It really is automatically disqualifying at this point.
The next constitutional amendment passed needs to include a maximum age for all state and federal elective and appointed offices-let's say a maximum of 60 for all offices.
Ok, that’s just ridiculous. I don’t think anyone seriously believes that John Kerry would have been too old to be president in 2004, or that JB Pritzker is too old to be governor of Illinois, or that Tammy Baldwin is too old to be a Senator.
The overt ageism on this board and the Discord is really getting ridiculous. For just one example, Pelosi turns 85 in a few days and she's still sharp as a tack. If she had been run off at 60 or 65 or 70 as some people seem to want, we probably wouldn't have gotten any of the big legislative wins of the past 15 years including the ACA.
Age as such is not the problem. It's unwillingness to adjust to 21st century politics. Pelosi, Sanders, and a bunch of other oldsters have adjusted. There's plenty of younger deadwood like Gillibrand (58) and Schatz (52) who haven't and need to be removed ASAP.
It appears that she's a carpetbagger so we'll see how that hurts her. She doesn't even CURRENTLY live in the district which is another knock against her.
"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.”
Yeah, this seems like an issue. With a House candidate, especially someone who's young, I don't expect that they necessarily lived here all their lives. The district has plenty of transplants. But I do expect them to be fluent in local issues. We'll see if she's able to meet that bar. Not super optimistic based on being here for less than a year, but stranger things have happened.
That's what it's looking like. I guess I'm more hoping that this just opens the floodgates to either get her to retire or allow someone more connected to the district to run. Then again... As a Millennial, I've moved around Los Angeles 6 times in the 15 years I've been here so it is hard to put down roots as a renter so as long as she gives a halfway decent rationale for WHY Chicago and WHY now other than district shopping, I could get onboard.
Apparently she used to be a College Republican at ASU Tempe several years back so that's interesting. I don't see her campaign getting far as a transplant who won't spend on cable ads though.
She's raised a good chunk of change but I wonder how long this challenge lasts; the progressives in the district love Jan and she's gonna run into a brick wall there
Illinois 9th Congressional District - Jan Schakowsky has a primary challenger in the form of Kat Abughazeleh. Schakowsky is the right Democrat for these types of primary challenges: 80 years old, been in office for as long as her challenger has been alive, and a district with a vote share over 65%. As a former resident of the Chicago suburbs I'll be watching this one closely.
https://www.axios.com/2025/03/24/kat-abughazaleh-jan-schakowsky-primary-challenge
I'm in IL-9 and curious to see how this one plays out. I'm certainly open to voting for a primary challenger. Schakowsky's great but it may be time for someone younger.
It's an interesting district, really a slice (literally) of Chicagoland. It includes Uptown, Edgewater, and Rogers Park in the city. These are North Side neighborhoods but not the most expensive ones. Then it grabs a mix of pretty progressive inner burbs (Evanston, Skokie), wealthier middle burbs (Glenview, bits of Des Plaines), and some light red areas (Niles and outer burbs near Algonquin). Completely safe D regardless of nominee. The cross-section it provides should be an interesting test case for this kind of primary.
I'm interested to see if the CW will hold true in this environment that the suburbs aren't fond of Firebrands like Kat. I think my best friend from Middle School is in this district and I used to live in Gurnee so I know the area. I hope this is just the first of many.
Also, running a firebrand primary challenge against one of the most progressive members of Congress won’t work particularly well imo, unless if people are just voting based on wanting change regardless of ideology.
I assume they are hoping for the same kind of lightening strike that took out Honda.
Schakowsky’s been a fine rep and progressive. Age alone is not a reason to give her the boot.
I think age is an issue that we shouldn't sweep under the rug. It also is not automatically disqualifying.
We already had two older representatives die this congress and the longer old representatives stay around the higher the chances that they will do the same. There is a demand from voters for some level of generational changeover, especially from the democratic part of the electorate. Right now there are 15 members of the house that are 80+ years old, and 12 of them are democrats.
It's also a lot easier to ensure a like-minded progressive successor if an official retires on a reasonable time table on their own terms while they still have influence over the process.
I believe that generational change is going to be a big theme in the 2026 elections. You'll have nearly a half a century age gap between the two candidates. Whether or not she'll be a good congressperson and can adjust to the role remains to be seen and it's not like Kat isn't progressive either. I think all things being equal if you can upgrade the position with a slightly more progressive candidate but 50 years younger, I think you go for it. We'll see how it works out.
It really is automatically disqualifying at this point.
The next constitutional amendment passed needs to include a maximum age for all state and federal elective and appointed offices-let's say a maximum of 60 for all offices.
Ok, that’s just ridiculous. I don’t think anyone seriously believes that John Kerry would have been too old to be president in 2004, or that JB Pritzker is too old to be governor of Illinois, or that Tammy Baldwin is too old to be a Senator.
I'm open to compromise on what the age in question should be. The point is that there should be a maximum age for state and federal officials.
I think 65-70 is a fair retirement age.
That seems reasonable. I could get behind that.
The overt ageism on this board and the Discord is really getting ridiculous. For just one example, Pelosi turns 85 in a few days and she's still sharp as a tack. If she had been run off at 60 or 65 or 70 as some people seem to want, we probably wouldn't have gotten any of the big legislative wins of the past 15 years including the ACA.
Age as such is not the problem. It's unwillingness to adjust to 21st century politics. Pelosi, Sanders, and a bunch of other oldsters have adjusted. There's plenty of younger deadwood like Gillibrand (58) and Schatz (52) who haven't and need to be removed ASAP.
It’s worth remembering what the Japanese master artist, Hokusai, said about age and painting.
And does Kat have any ties to the district? Her linkedin says she’s from Arizona and went to college and worked in DC.
It appears that she's a carpetbagger so we'll see how that hurts her. She doesn't even CURRENTLY live in the district which is another knock against her.
"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.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/24/illinois-progressive-congress-member-attracts-gen-z-challenger-027500
Yeah, this seems like an issue. With a House candidate, especially someone who's young, I don't expect that they necessarily lived here all their lives. The district has plenty of transplants. But I do expect them to be fluent in local issues. We'll see if she's able to meet that bar. Not super optimistic based on being here for less than a year, but stranger things have happened.
So she district shopped? I don't predict success in her challenge
That's what it's looking like. I guess I'm more hoping that this just opens the floodgates to either get her to retire or allow someone more connected to the district to run. Then again... As a Millennial, I've moved around Los Angeles 6 times in the 15 years I've been here so it is hard to put down roots as a renter so as long as she gives a halfway decent rationale for WHY Chicago and WHY now other than district shopping, I could get onboard.
Sounds like her candidacy will go nowhere. Who is this person?
Gen Z TikTok political influencer. She mostly shits on Conservative Media Personalities.
Apparently she used to be a College Republican at ASU Tempe several years back so that's interesting. I don't see her campaign getting far as a transplant who won't spend on cable ads though.
She's raised a good chunk of change but I wonder how long this challenge lasts; the progressives in the district love Jan and she's gonna run into a brick wall there
I see no reason to get rid of her, she's close friends with Bernie, a decent human being and a damn reliable congresswoman!! 💙🇺🇲