Gen Z Progressive With Massive TikTok Following Launches Congressional Bid in Illinois

Progressive influencer Kat Abughazaleh on Monday launched a bid to run for Illinois' safely blue 9th Congressional District, a seat that is currently held by Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk "are dismantling our country piece by piece, and so many Democrats seem content to just sit back and let them, so I say it's time to drop the excuses and grow a fucking spine," Abughazaleh said in her campaign launch video.

Schakowsky, who is 80 and has held the seat since 1998, "has had a pretty great track record on her voting," Abughazaleh told Rolling Stone. "She's been a good congresswoman, but I want to be better."

A reporter with the local paper Evanston Now posted a statement from Schakowsky responding to Abughazaleh's campaign. "I have always encouraged more participation in the democratic process, and I'm glad to see new faces getting involved as we stand up against the Trump administration," Schakowsky wrote. Schakowsky has not said officially whether she plans on running for reelection, according to the reporter.

On Tuesday, Abughazaleh announced that her campaign had raised $200,000 in its first 24 hours because "people believe in our 'far-left' ideas like Existence Shouldn't Be So Difficult."

In her campaign launch video, Abughazaleh also foregrounded economic concerns, saying there's "no reason" Americans shouldn't be able to afford housing, groceries, and healthcare.

Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old, who was raised a Republican, previously worked for the left-leaning media monitoring organization Media Matters for America. In 2024, she and 11 other employees were laid off after Musk sued the organization.

Abughazaleh has risen to prominence on TikTok, amassing over 220,000 followers, by posting videos about the right-wing—for example, a multipart series on the white Christian nationalism and commentary on Fox News' coverage. She also covered the 2024 Democratic National Convention as a social media influencer.

Rolling Stone also noted that Abughazaleh is "a wildly successful, incisive communicator who is stepping up at a time when it is clear that the party is in desperate need of new messengers."

Her announcement comes as Democrats in Congress have gotten an earful at town halls, with many constituents showing up to demand Democrats do more to counter U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Illinois' 9th Congressional District includes parts of Chicago, Evanston, and Glenview. Abughazaleh moved to the Chicago area in July, according to Politico.