With the March 17 primary election less than two months away, candidates running for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District have filed reports with the Federal Election Commission for the last quarter of 2025.
More than $11 million in funds has flooded the 19-candidate race to replace U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston), who announced in May that she would not seek reelection.
Mayor Daniel Biss, progressive content creator Kat Abughazaleh, State Sen. Laura Fine (D-Glenview), State Rep. Hoan Huynh (D-Chicago) and former FBI hostage negotiator Phil Andrew have all raised more than $1 million, according to reports from the FEC.
Abughazaleh reported a yearly total of $2.7 million, Biss raised $1.98 million and Fine raised $1.92 million, while Andrew collected $1.21 million and Huynh’s haul totaled just over $1 million.
According to a spokesperson for Abughazaleh’s campaign, the campaign is “encouraged” by its fundraising lead.
“It aligns with expectations for a grassroots campaign that relies on broad participation rather than corporate or special interest donors like AIPAC,” the spokesperson wrote. “The scale and consistency of small-dollar support at this stage reinforces confidence in the campaign’s strategy and trajectory.”
According to FEC filings, Fine ended the year with the most cash on hand, with over $1.43 million — just ahead of Biss’ $1.37 million, followed by Andrew with $961,000, Abughazaleh with $810,000 and Huynh with $737,000.
A spokesperson for Andrew’s campaign partly attributed the fundraising numbers to previous government experience. Andrew is a first-time political candidate.
“I think you can see a difference in the various campaign funds between the candidates, those who have held office before — clearly in Senator Fine and certainly in Mayor Biss,” they told The Daily. “So there’s certainly some fundraising advantage, I would imagine, because people know his name.”
The spokesperson said that as the last few weeks of the race approach, Andrew’s campaign will focus its spending on both digital and mail communications.
Fine has faced criticism from opponents, including Biss and Abughazaleh, for accepting donations associated with AIPAC, the country’s largest pro-Israel lobbying group. AIPAC has not publicly endorsed Fine but has sent at least two fundraising emails on her behalf.
AIPAC also drew attention after former candidate Bruce Leon accused the group of pressuring him to withdraw from the primary race.
In a statement to The Daily, a spokesperson from Amiwala’s campaign wrote she had completed her 270th meet and greet in the district and has one of the “strongest in-district donor bases and grassroots operations.”
“We’ve been thoughtful and responsible with every dollar because this is a people-powered campaign, backed by neighbors across IL-09,” the spokesperson wrote.
A spokesperson for State Sen. Mike Simmons’ (D-Chicago) campaign wrote in a statement to The Daily that Simmons would never be “the candidate that appeals to the wealthy and powerful or raises the most money from them,” based on his life and work.
“Mike’s campaign has rejected money from interests that go against this district’s voters and values. That includes rejecting AIPAC, all corporate PACs, charter school PACs, fossil fuel industry contributions, for-profit prisons and detention centers and pharmaceutical companies,” they wrote.
The spokesperson added the campaign believes Simmons has built name recognition among voters through his legislative work rather than his fundraising and “endless TV ads.”
Other candidates in the race have pointed to the geographic makeup of their donor bases as a key distinction.
According to a news release from the Biss campaign, the mayor boasts the highest in-state donor ratio of any leading candidate — with more than 75% of fourth-quarter contributions and 85% of total donations coming from Illinois donors.
“As Laura Fine is forced to travel the country to drum up support, Daniel Biss has earned overwhelming backing right here at home from the people of Illinois’ 9th District,” wrote campaign manager George Lundgren.
Lundgren described the Biss campaign as “locally powered, locally funded, and locally supported.”
Biss’ out-of-state supporters largely came from Massachusetts and New York, reporting $26,500 and $25,000 in contributions, respectively. His in-state support totaled to $1.1 million.
With support from 45 different states, 75% of Abughazaleh’s yearly individual donations came from out of state. Californians’ contributions came $32,000 short of the $95,000 she received from Illinois residents.
“This campaign is funded primarily by small-dollar individual donors, both in Illinois and nationwide. That reflects broad grassroots participation, not special interest influence, and the campaign is accountable to voters here in IL-09,” a spokesperson for Abughazaleh’s campaign wrote in a statement to The Daily.
Meanwhile, 67% of Laura Fine’s yearly individual donations came from Illinois, with $194,186.98 coming from out-of-state donors — the largest portions being $36,500 from Florida and $32,000 from New York.
On the Republican side, IT consultant Mark Su leads the 4-person race, with almost $20,000 in total receipts and $7,800 in cash on hand.
Former software developer Paul Friedman reported just $2,700 in both total receipts and cash on hand, while paraprofessional Rocío Cleveland has not reported any funds. Friedman told the Daily in January he’s aiming to raise less than $5,000 in total fundraising. Pastor John Elleson has not filed with the FEC.
Independent candidate Delila Barrera has also not reported any funds.
Claire Coffey contributed reporting.
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