Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller and former Rep. Melissa Bean have won the Democratic primaries in Illinois’ 2nd and 8th Congressional Districts, NBC News projects.
Miller’s victory puts an end to former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s comeback attempt, while Bean’s primary win practically cements her return to Congress, more than a decade after she lost her seat to a Republican challenger during the 2010 tea party wave.
The victories leave two out of four heavily contested Democratic congressional primaries in the Chicago area still uncalled, after campaigns which exposed divides on numerous issues in the Democratic Party.
Chief among them were disagreements over Israel policy between progressives and moderate candidates. Amid that debate, an onslaught of anonymous outside money flooded three Chicagoland districts, apparently aimed at boosting more moderate candidates who are also more supportive of Israel.
Three groups, which popped up in the final six weeks of the campaign and went to great lengths to hide the source of their funding until after the election, combined to spend more than $16 million to boost Miller, Bean and state Sen. Laura Fine in the 9th District — and to cut down progressive opponents.
Progressives have accused pro-Israel groups of being behind the spending, using the presence of the anonymous advertising campaign as a rallying cry aimed at motivating their supporters, though there’s no direct proof of any association. Still, those allegations fueled the central divides in the race.
Biss leads contentious 9th District race
Progressives are leading the day in the 9th District, where Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss has a 4-point lead over former journalist Kat Abughazaleh with about 90% of the expected vote counted.
Super PAC spending sought to boost state Fine, who was seen as the more moderate candidate in the race and was backed by neighboring Rep. Brad Schneider and dozens of her state legislative colleagues, as well as the Chicago Tribune editorial board.
Biss is supported by retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who has represented this seat for decades, as well as Sen. Tammy Duckworth. Abughazaleh, meanwhile, has the backing of prominent progressive groups like Justice Democrats as well as Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California.
The starkest divide in the race came over the issue of Israel. Biss, who is Jewish and whose relatives survived the Holocaust, has criticized Israel’s government and called for a Palestinian state, while saying he supports the “special relationship” between the U.S. and Israel.
Abughazaleh went further with her criticism of Israel, calling its recent conduct in Gaza a genocide and calling for restrictions on military aid. Fine, who is also Jewish, has defended Israel and opposed “additional conditions on aid to Israel” while also calling for humanitarian support for people in Gaza.
Bean’s congressional comeback in the 8th District
In the 8th, Bean is poised to do what former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. could not: successfully win a comeback bid.
Bean has the backing of Duckworth, a number of her former House colleagues, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Her top opponent was Junaid Ahmed, a tech consultant, who was backed by prominent progressives including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, as well as progressive groups like Justice Democrats. Sen. Dick Durbin’s pick, Yasmeen Bankole, is poised to finish well behind the frontrunners.
This is another race that saw significant outside spending — about $4 million from Elect Chicago Women (another one of these groups with unclear funding) and another $500,000 from the AI industry-funded Think Big. Both groups are boosting Bean.
There are also deep divisions on Israel in this race, with Ahmed accusing Israel of genocide and calling for an end to all military aid to Israel, while Bean is backed by Democratic Majority for Israel.
Tight race for the 7th
State Rep. La Shawn Ford has the backing of retiring Rep. Danny Davis in his bid to succeed the longtime Democratic lawmaker in the 7th District. Ford leads Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin by about 3 points with approximately 80% of the expected vote in.
United Democracy Project, a super PAC aligned with the American Israel Political Affairs Committee, is backing Conyears-Ervin, spending more than $2 million to boost her. Conyears-Ervin also has other powerful backers like former Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago Teachers Union.