Political influencer launches challenge to longtime U.S. Rep. Schakowsky

(Editor’s Note: This story was reported by Alex Harrison for the Evanston RoundTable, a neighboring independent newsroom. It was shared with The Record as part of an ongoing collaborative effort.)

Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old journalist and political influencer, announced Monday morning she will run to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026, setting up a presumed challenge against Evanston resident and longtime Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky.

The 9th District includes portions of Wilmette and Northfield as well as Evanston, Glenview, Northbrook and other suburbs. The primary election for Schakowsky’s seat is set for March 17, 2026.

In an announcement video posted to Bluesky, among other platforms, Abughazaleh opens by arguing that as Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk are “dismantling our country piece by piece,” many current Democrats are “content to just sit back and let them.”

“I say it’s time to drop the excuses and grow a (expletive) spine,” she says in the video.

Abughazaleh, who has long fought far right-wing activity, has more than 200,000 followers on TikTok and significant followings on other platforms. She previously worked at progressive watchdog Media Matters for America.

A news release posted to her campaign website touts that she was subpoenaed and deposed by “Elon Musk’s army of corporate lawyers” in his lawsuit against Media Matters, which led to the company laying her, and other employees, off in May 2024.

“While current Democratic leadership might be fine cowering to Trump, I’m not,” Abughazaleh says in her announcement video. “I spent my entire career reporting on the far right and being attacked by them as a result.”

The incumbent Schakowsky has represented the 9th District, which includes Wilmette, since 1999. Since defeating State Sen. Howard Carroll and future Gov. JB Pritzker in the 1998 Democratic primary, she’s faced a primary opponent on the ballot in just two election cycles — and neither of them took more than 12% of the vote.

While Abughazaleh’s video and release does not mention Schakowsky, her website’s “about” page refers to the incumbent as “the person elected in 1998,” and her social media bios state she’s running “because we deserve Dems who actually do something.”

In a profile story also published Monday in Rolling Stone, Abughazaleh is quoted as saying Schakowsky “has had a pretty great track record on her voting” and has “been a good congresswoman, but I want to be better.”

This profile also reports that Abughazaleh is not a resident of the 9th District; though the U.S. Constitution does not require representatives live within their districts, only the state itself. While Abughazaleh’s campaign did not immediately respond to an email asking where she does reside, Abughazaleh indicates in her announcement video that she lives in Chicago.

Schakowsky won her 14th term in November 2024, pulling in around 68% of the vote to defeat Republican candidate Seth Alan Cohen, of Buffalo Grove.

In an email statement to the RoundTable, she wrote that she’s “always encouraged more participation” and is “glad to see new faces getting involved” in Democrats’ fight against Trump.

“Right now, that’s what I’m focused on: fighting back against this extreme MAGA regime,” Schakowsky wrote. “Make no mistake about it, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are dead set on ripping away health care from millions of Americans and taking food off families’ tables to give trillions in tax cuts to billionaires. I will never stop fighting against these shameful policies and will continue working to make life better for every single American.”

Schakowsky did not answer whether she plans to run for reelection. Illinois will hold its gubernatorial primary elections on March 17, 2026.

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