Jewish Netanyahu critic wins Illinois primary after AIPAC spends millions against him

Jewish candidate Daniel Biss won the Democratic nomination for the 9th Congressional District in Illinois on Tuesday, overcoming a well-funded campaign attacking him over his liberal views on Israel.

Biss, the mayor of suburban Evanston, came first in a crowded field of 15 Democrats vying for the Chicago-area seat vacated by longtime congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who had represented the heavily Jewish district for over 20 years.

Former journalist Kat Abughazaleh, a young Palestinian-American progressive candidate, came second in the vote count, followed by State Senator Laura Fine, who was backed by AIPAC.

Biss was one of several candidates in Tuesday’s primary either backed by pro-Israel lobby AIPAC or in the group’s crosshairs. With support for Israel, especially amid the war in Iran, a hot-button issue in a number of races, the lobby was one of several organizations to spend heavily on the campaign, drawing the ire of some voters and candidates.

Elect Chicago Women, a super PAC aligned with AIPAC, had invested more than $5.7 million in attacking Biss and millions in supporting Fine’s campaign.

During a victory speech following the vote, Biss criticized AIPAC’s perspectives on Israel and its spending campaign in the congressional race.

“This district understands nuance and wants someone who accepts the reality of competing, even contradictory, priorities and values and realities. That point of view is not the point of view of AIPAC. AIPAC spends an unbelievable amount of money. Over 7 million dollars to try to buy this seat,” he said.

“So enough about AIPAC. May tonight be the last night I utter their name. This victory belongs to J Street,” Biss said, referring to the progressive pro-Israel group that rivals AIPAC.

Biss called Schakowsky, who endorsed him, his “political hero” and said the contest to replace her raised fundamental questions about Democratic Party priorities.

“Are we going to double down on our progressive values, or are we going to shrink away from protecting the most vulnerable?” Biss said. “We are going to stand up, we are going to fight.”

Schakowsky’s was one of five open seats in the Chicago area.

Schakowsky herself withdrew her support for Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, who won Illinois’ second district, because of the candidate’s AIPAC backing.

VIDEO: Biss in victory speech:

“So enough about AIPAC. May tonight be the last night I utter their name.

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“This victory belongs to J Street.” https://t.co/oJESCDBfJk pic.twitter.com/nyHLLRMaSA

— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) March 18, 2026

Biss has a personal connection to Israel. His mother is Israeli, he speaks Hebrew and would go to visit Israel during the summer, according to the Forward. He identifies as a “progressive Zionist.”

However, he has been critical of the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war against Hams in Gaza, among other policies.

In a January Substack post, Biss said that he had met with local AIPAC representatives as well as a “wide range of organizations” throughout his campaign.

He described his stance on Israel as “support for a two-state solution, opposition to the humanitarian catastrophe the Netanyahu government has inflicted on Gaza and Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank, and the need to combat antisemitism.”

Biss has said that if elected to Congress, he would push the US to bring diplomatic and economic pressure on Israel.

“I think that it’s important to have people in Congress who advocate for that kind of position, from a standpoint of supporting Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish democratic state, understanding Israel’s need to defend itself, and advocating for a vision of Israeli defense and security that is not inconsistent with basic humanitarian principles, and with the Jewish values of treating every life as equally sacred,” he told the Forward earlier this week.

Biss will face Republican pastor John Elleson in November’s general election,  though the district is more likely to sway Democrat, according to the Chicago Sun Times. Before Schakowsky, Democrat Sidney R. Yates held it for 24 terms, with a two-year gap prompted by an unsuccessful Senate bid.

The 9th district includes Evanston and Chicago’s North Shore suburbs, with one of the largest Jewish populations in the Midwest and a history of Jewish representation. An estimated 11 percent of the electorate is Jewish, according to the Forward.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won a hotly contested primary for the Senate seat being vacated by Dick Durbin, the chamber’s longtime No. 2 Democrat, edging out two sitting members of the US House to advance to a general election against Republican nominee Don Tracy, the former state party chair.

Furious fundraising and sharp elbows marked the race, which tested the influence of Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. The governor, whose name has been floated as a 2028 presidential contender, backed Stratton.

The races were testing grounds for some of the biggest issues facing the Democratic Party, from support for Israel to immigration enforcement and the cryptocurrency and AI industries, as super PACs poured millions of dollars into the hotly contested primaries.

Rochelle Brockenborough, 64, said she voted for Stratton at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Service Center in Chicago.

“I wanted to make sure there was no AIPAC money. That’s important to me,” she said, adding that US tax dollars shouldn’t be used to support Israel.