Twenty-eight years ago to the day, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston) claimed victory in a Democratic primary that came to define Illinois’ 9th Congressional District for a generation. On Tuesday night, Democratic voters found her prospective successor in Mayor Daniel Biss.
Amid neon beer signs and polished vintage cars at Double Clutch Brewing Company, his campaign watch party attendees broke out in cheers when the Associated Press called the race just after 9:30 p.m.
According to the AP, Biss bested 14 Democratic opponents with 29.4% of the vote. After being welcomed to the event with whoops and cheers, Biss delivered a victory speech to dozens of supporters, including local elected officials, family and campaign volunteers.
Following a primary race that had “everything” from dark money allegations to a federal indictment and several confrontations with federal immigration agents, Biss concluded voters “spoke clearly” in selecting new Democratic leadership under the second Trump administration.
“We’re going to stand up, we’re going to fight,” Biss said. “We will not back down, and we will fight for the progressive values that are the values, not only of this district, but of this whole country.”
He honored Schakowsky, his self-proclaimed “political hero,” who endorsed Biss and attended Tuesday’s event. Between speaking about her progressive legacy as the “conscience of the district” and trading jokes, Biss quipped that the congresswoman’s calls still make him “a little nervous.”
“If Jan Schakowsky is not proud of you, you’re doing something wrong,” Biss said, prompting laughs from supporters.
The 9th Congressional District race drew national attention for its millions of dollars in outside spending. Biss accused opponent State Sen. Laura Fine (D-Glenview) of receiving millions of dollars from “shell organizations” affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the country’s largest pro-Israel lobbying group.
In total, reportedly AIPAC-backed super PACs Elect Chicago Women and Elect Democratic Women Action Fund spent more than $6.3 million on pro-Fine and anti-Biss advertisements. Although Biss received backlash for meeting with AIPAC representatives last year, the mayor wrote he “never sought — and would never accept — AIPAC’s support in this campaign” in a January Substack post.
On stage, Biss blasted AIPAC’s reported involvement in the race, claiming it spent “over $7 million to try to buy this seat.” He added that the lobbying group denied his — and the district’s — complex views on “the question of Israel and Palestine.”
“There was a lot of pressure to move away from one or the other of those perspectives, and I was not willing to do it, because that’s not who I am, and that’s not what this district is,” Biss said.
The mayor’s victory was a resounding blow to AIPAC in the 9th Congressional District, where it appears to have spent the most among several open Chicago-area congressional races.
While reportedly AIPAC-backed candidates Donna Miller and Melissa Bean won their respective Democratic primary races in Illinois’ 2nd and 8th Congressional Districts, Biss maintained that the 9th Congressional District understands the “nuance” of the issue, a stance he said AIPAC doesn’t share.
“AIPAC found out the hard way,” Biss said. “The 9th District is not for sale.”
Central to Biss’ campaign and victory speech was his “marriage of government and activism,” particularly in his mayoral record and December confrontation of former Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino in Evanston.
While Biss recalled receiving criticism for describing the country as a “hellscape” in his congressional campaign launch video in May, “little did we know,” the mayor said Tuesday night.
“When this campaign started, I didn’t know what tear gas smelled like,” Biss said. “When this campaign started, I’d never seen my neighbors abducted, dissenters beaten up on the street.”
Amid increased federal immigration enforcement in the Chicago area, Biss said he engaged in activism and saw Evanston residents from diverse ages, races and neighborhoods “rise up in response.”
He described community members’ efforts to keep one another safe “without leaders, just leading one another in solidarity.” He called it “the single most moving, powerful, transformational thing I have ever witnessed in my entire life.”
“It was life-changing, and I think it paints a picture for what kind of movement we need to build on every issue going forward,” Biss said.
While Biss is heavily favored to win the general election against Republican John Elleson, he told reporters following his speech “it’s been an honor and a joy” to serve as Evanston’s mayor — a job he plans to continue until November.
If Biss resigns before Nov. 27, as he promised during an on-campus candidate forum in November 2025, a special election will be triggered to choose his replacement.
Biss also told reporters he looks forward to completing “unfinished business,” including advancing his signature Envision Evanston 2045 initiative. The mayor added he’s “no less passionate about that today than I was yesterday or a year ago.”
While the hardest part of Biss’ congressional campaign may be over, he urged his volunteers and supporters to continue pushing forward.
“We are going to keep it together because we are not done making change. We are not done winning fights,” Biss said. “Tonight is just the very beginning.”
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