Last updated March 9 at 2:32 a.m.
During her Thursday night stand-up comedy routine at the Prattic, congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh accused State Sen. Laura Fine’s (D-Glenview) field director of covertly visiting her Rogers Park campaign office.
Throughout her 15-minute set at the off-campus, student-run comedy club, Abughazaleh took aim at critics, ranging from Elon Musk to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, whose reported involvement in the 9th Congressional District’s Democratic primary has drawn national media attention.
Sandwiched between self-deprecating jokes, Abughazaleh targeted Fine’s campaign.
“Most recently, Laura Fine’s field director came into our campaign office and asked for information about our field program undercover,” Abughazaleh said. “I’m just wondering if you have millions upon millions of dollars, can’t you at least hire a competent spy?”
In a Saturday morning statement to The Daily, a spokesperson for the Abughazaleh campaign wrote the Fine staffer entered the office “posing as a volunteer” and proceeded to ask questions about the campaign’s strategy.
“Given the state of the race, we found the interaction unusual and deeply inappropriate,” the spokesperson wrote.
The Abughazaleh campaign provided The Daily with a video of the incident, which it claims shows Fine staffer Madeleine McGrath entering the building “earlier this week.” After she was asked to provide contact information, the spokesperson wrote, “she declined and left.”
In the statement, the Abughazaleh campaign also pointed to McGrath’s LinkedIn profile, which displays her affiliation with Fine’s campaign and was temporarily deactivated Saturday.
While pitching herself to student voters Thursday, Abughazaleh said the alleged visit shows her campaign’s momentum, arguing the establishment is “scared of our army of volunteers” and “because they know young people are turning out.”
In a Friday night statement to The Daily, a spokesperson for Fine’s campaign appeared to respond to Abughazaleh’s claim with a joke of their own.
“We aren’t aware of the incident being described here but will use this opportunity to remind the campaign field team about the proper procedures for top secret espionage operations,” the spokesperson wrote.
Clarification: This story has been updated to include a statement from Abughazaleh’s campaign.
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