The Democratic Party of Evanston declined to endorse a candidate in the crowded race to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District on Sunday after no contender secured the two-thirds majority of dues-paying members required for the party’s backing.
Mayor Daniel Biss led the pack with 53% of the vote among members, followed by State Sen. Laura Fine (D-Glenview) with 17%. Progressive content creator Kat Abughazaleh secured 10% of the vote.
In a statement to The Daily on Sunday, Biss wrote that he’s “humbled to have earned majority support among the candidates for Congress.”
“We’re building the strongest locally-supported campaign in this race, and I look forward to growing our grassroots movement as we approach March 17,” Biss wrote.
The DPOE also declined to endorse candidates in races for Illinois Senate and U.S. Senate, but attorney Rachel Ruttenberg and Lieutenant Gov. Juliana Stratton received the most support in their respective races.
Members gathered for an endorsement session at the Unitarian Church of Evanston on Saturday, hearing from party officials and candidates in all three races.
Leading congressional candidates condemn federal immigration enforcement
The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday morning loomed large over the event, coming just weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer killed Renee Nicole Good in the city.
“Listen, they killed somebody again today,” Biss said. “This is what’s at stake in this moment. This is what we are dealing with as a people — the lawlessness, the escalating violence, the lies.”
Biss added he is the only candidate “who is winning fights for our values inside of government” as well as “out in the streets.”
In her remarks, Abughazaleh said that although she would “genuinely love” to talk about other policy priorities, she wants and needs to discuss ICE activity.
She referenced her October federal indictment tied to protest activities at the ICE detention facility in Broadview, Illinois, calling her actions “the bare minimum for anyone trying to run for office.” She has since pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Abughazaleh said demanding to abolish ICE “isn’t enough” and challenged her opponents to commit to prosecuting Trump administration officials.
“Maybe I am strange for thinking this, but I don’t know how any Democrat can talk to any voters today and mention anything else but this,” Abughazaleh said. “We can all speak the lines. We can go through all of the motions, but it is not enough anymore.”
Fine called ICE “out of control” and labeled its actions “unacceptable.” She highlighted her support for Illinois’ Safety and Action for Liberation Together Act, legislation she said mandates federal agents “unmask” and identify themselves during operations in the state.
Leading candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly (D-Matteson) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Schaumburg), also denounced the shooting at Saturday’s event. Stratton did not attend the endorsement session.
“I’m horrified and saddened,” Kelly told The Daily following her speech. “Is this my country?”
Kelly introduced articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in mid-January. Over 100 congresspeople, including Krishnamoorthi, have since signed onto the impeachment resolution.
While denouncing Saturday’s shooting, Krishnamoorthi was heckled by an audience member.
In December, the Chicago Sun-Times first reported that Krishnamoorthi accepted more than $90,000 in contributions from conservative donors, including the chief technology officer for Palantir, an ICE contractor. Krishnamoorthi later told the Sun-Times he donated contributions from Palantir’s CTO to unnamed immigrant rights groups.
Appearing to reference those donations and the murder of Renee Nicole Good, the audience member shouted, “Shame on you. Her blood is on your hands.”
Still, Krishnamoorthi reiterated his criticism of Saturday’s shooting, adding he would not vote “for a single dollar for DHS” and calling for Noem’s impeachment.
“It’s outrageous, unacceptable,” Krishnamoorthi told The Daily. “To me, it looked like murder.”
Balloting process sparks controversy
The endorsement session followed a rocky start to the DPOE’s voting process, which included four days of voting via Election Runner, an online balloting software. Paper ballots were also available to members during Saturday’s event.
In total, 279 people voted — about 80% of DPOE’s membership.
Voting began Wednesday morning, but the online ballot initially left off two candidates: economist Jeff Cohen and Chicago resident Mark Arnold Fredrickson.
The DPOE caught the mistake and restarted its balloting process that day, according to Ryan Flynn, the party’s secretary.
Candidates could also submit videos addressing DPOE members. However, ballots distributed to members mistakenly indicated that Abughazaleh and some other candidates “did not submit” a video.
Flynn said that although Abughazaleh had submitted a video on time and the DPOE confirmed receipt, a processing “mistake” prevented it from appearing on the electronic ballot.
By the time the party realized this error, Flynn explained, “many dozens had already voted,” and party officials did not want to restart balloting a second time. Abughazaleh’s video was ultimately posted to the DPOE’s YouTube channel, along with submissions from other candidates, on Thursday.
In an Instagram post Friday evening, Abughazaleh wrote, “the DPOE misrepresented us on the ballot, didn’t tell us, and still has not issued a formal correction.”
The party sent an email to members that night apologizing for the mistake but refrained from naming specific candidates who were affected, according to Flynn. He explained party officials didn’t want to “create additional chaos” or give one candidate a moment in “the spotlight.”
He emphasized that the video submissions were purely supplemental, labeling Saturday’s in-person speeches “the main event.”
“We’re giving our membership extra through the YouTube channel,” Flynn said. “This does not in any way, shape, or form preclude our members from voting or not voting for any candidate.”
But in an interview with The Daily at Saturday’s endorsement session, Abughazaleh said she worried members would react negatively to the ballot’s language and explained she wanted to “correct the record.”
“If I were someone voting on that, I would think, ‘Wow, that candidate doesn’t care enough to submit the video,’” she said. “Even if it’s just a mistake, it’s an issue, considering this is a democratic process.”
A spokesperson for the Abughazaleh campaign added, “The damage has been done.”
Attendees look to the future
While the DPOE declined to endorse a candidate in the congressional race, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston), who announced her retirement in May, encouraged attendees to vote — and to support Biss.
“I’ve said, ‘Daniel, you have to be in my shoes, which means you better be a badass when you get to the Congress of the United States and caring for all of the people in the district,’” Schakowsky said at the event. “I feel very sure that that’s going to happen.”
Illinois House Majority Leader and State Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), who acted as the DPOE’s proxy chairperson during the event, later clarified that members are not allowed to endorse specific candidates from the podium, according to the party’s bylaws.
Meanwhile, Evanston resident Loretta Jackson, who has voted for Biss in multiple elections and is considering several candidates for Congress this year, said she’s eager for “change” and added that combatting federal immigration enforcement is her top priority.
“Who would be willing to step up and confront ICE?” she said. “I would see myself supporting someone that is not afraid, someone that is able to speak up and speak out.”
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