Chicago Blues 

The Democratic primary in Chicago’s 9th Congressional District, scheduled for March 17, is shaping up to be a bellwether race for 2026. And like all too many of these contests in deep-blue cities, it is a matchup that casts no heroes and demands much nose-holding. That being said, Chicago’s Orthodox Jewish community can potentially play a determinative role in the outcome.

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Sometimes labeled Illinois’s “Jewish seat,” the reliably Democratic district was represented by Rep. Sidney Yates from 1965 to 1999, and then by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who announced her retirement last year.

Now, the short list of front-runners in the Democratic primary includes Kat Abughazaleh, a Palestinian-American with a robust record of anti-Israel activism fitting comfortably into her far-left platform.

The district has been solidly blue for over seven decades and has now swung in an increasingly progressive direction. The district covers West Rogers Park and Skokie, so it is also home to the vast majority of Chicago’s Orthodox community.

“It’s a very diverse district and it’s become very progressive, but I don’t know of any other bloc that’s as cohesive as us,” says Rabbi Shlomo Soroka, director of government affairs for Agudath Israel of Illinois.