From a Friend of McHenry County Blog:
First out of the gate of Democrats hoping to replace Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky was pro-Palestine Kat Abughazaleh.
Others have followed, but they are traditional elected official types.
Now comes Bushra Amiwala.
Earlier this week, another Gen Z Democrat, Bushra Amiwala, joined the race to replace Schakowsky who is retiring from Congress.
he new contestant has a full Wikipedia profile and here are some of the highlights from her biography.
- 27 years old (about a year and a half older than Kat Abughazaleh)
- Regarded as the first Gen Z politician elected
- Won a school board race in 2019 and was reelected in 2023
- First Muslim elected in her school board district
- Awarded the United Nations’ Gender Equity Award in 2022
- Made Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2025
- Featured in a Hulu documentary, a PBS documentary, and an Amazon Prime documentary
- Featured in Time and Glamour magazines
- Daughter of Pakistani immigrants
- National Debate Champion at Harvard University
- MBA from Northwestern, undergrad from DePaul
- Former intern for U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (Republican)
- Has lived in Rogers Park-Skokie-Niles area
This woman is a more credible and accomplished version of Kat Abughazaleh.
-Much better resume
-Involved in politics longer & does more than TikTok
-Experience as an elected official
-Is not a carpetbagger
-Faith is genuine, not a fashion accessory or political virtue signal
She is likely going to run with a similar position to Kat Abughazaleh on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Abughazaleh will no longer be able to claim a monopoly on that issue nor to being a uniquely young candidate. Amiwala’s entrance hurts Abughazaleh more than any other candidate because these two will be competing for similar voters: young progressives.
Further complicating the situation for Abughazaleh is the fact that Amiwala is also good-looking — just not in a “needs to show skin” way. Amiwala is good-looking despite her modest or arguably conservative way of dressing. Abughazaleh is considered good-looking, but she likes to show her skin. It is a distinction with a significant difference.
Kat Abughazaleh shows her tummy on Instagram and even more scandalous pictures exist
Other Democratic candidates include Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, State Senator Laura Fine, and Miracle Jenkins — a candidate little is known about other than being a “Chicagoan.” Another supposed candidate, Justin Ford, has not filed his paperwork with the FEC, and yet another candidate, David Abrevaya, did file paperwork but has since dropped out.
In terms of fundraising, it is unclear if Bushra Amiwala will be considered a heavy hitter.
Thus far, Daniel Biss is the only person who has displayed the ability to compete with Kat Abughazaleh at fundraising.
Laura Fine dodged questions about it which could be a sign of trouble.
It was widely reported that Biss raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in a few days.
Four women and one man should favor Biss in the primary, but the race is definitely more interesting now with the addition of Amiwala battling Abughazaleh for Gen Z voters. (I am old enough to remember when Biss was the young cool people’s candidate; the year was 2018, but I digress…)
On the Republican side, there are candidates Dongbo Mark Su and Rocío Cleveland so far but at least one more person will join according to activist Terry Newsome who insists another candidate is going to run in the 8th district too. Newsome is a hater of Rocío Cleveland in the 9th and Mark Rice in the 8th so it is possible he is mixing up “things that will happen” vs “things I want to happen” in his mind, but we shall see if he is telling the truth by November.
The 9th district is considered safe Democratic and it includes Algonquin Township in McHenry County.
It was surprising how both Abughazaleh and Amiwala have Republican backgrounds.
Although both have eschewed their Republican past lives, their Democratic primary opponents may try to make hay out of it.
On the other hand, candidates might view Biss as the frontrunner and limit their attacks to him while he might choose to not “punch down.”
So far, the race has been boring, only getting major media attention when Abughazaleh is involved in a sex or violence scandal (the latest one was a nothingburger about security guards, “threats,” and a strange man vomiting near the campaign headquarters sadly amplified by Daily Herald).
Hopefully, the addition of Amiwala will bring more attention to this race for better reasons.
