Crowded field of Democrats face off in primary election for retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky's seat

One of the most closely watched congressional races in the 2026 midterms is in the 9th Congressional District in Illinois, where 15 Democrats jumped into the race after longterm U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky decided to retire at the end of her term.

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, social media influencer and journalist Kat Abughazaleh, and Illinois state Sen. Laura Fine appear to be the frontrunners in the crowded race for a seat Schakowsky has held since 1999.

The district includes several neighborhoods on the North Side of Chicago, including Uptown, Edgewater, Andersonville, Rogers Park, and West Ridge; as well as several northern and northwestern suburbs, including Evanston, Skokie, Glenview, Buffalo Grove, Algonquin, Prospect Heights, and Fox River Grove.

The crowdd field of 15 Democrats running for the seat spans three generations, from Gen X to Gen Z, and with so many candidates on the ballot, the winner might need only a relatively small percentage to move on to the general election.

Most of the candidates in the race have supported progressive campaign platforms, including backing Medicare for all or some other form of universal healthcare, providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and significantly overhauling or abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

With a large field of candidates, it's also drawn millions of dollars in campaign contributions.

Federal campaign finance records show Abughazaleh, who just moved to Illinois in 2024, raised more than $3.3 million for her campaign, with most of her donations coming from people who gave $200 or less, and most of those contributions coming from outside Illinois.

Fine raised more than $2.5 million, with most of that money coming from outside Illinois, from donors who gave $1,000 or more.

Biss raised more than $2.3 million, with nearly $2 million of that coming from Illinois donors, and most of his donations coming from people who gave $2,000 or more.

Andrew raised more than $1.3 million, Amiwala raised more than $1.1 million, and Huynh raised more than $1 million. No other candidate raised more than six figures.

Four Republicans also are running for the seat, but will face an uphill battle against whichever Democrat wins the race. Democrats have held the seat since 1949.