AIPAC‑Linked Networks Help Donna Miller and Melissa Bean Win Illinois Democratic Primaries While Losing in IL‑7 and IL‑9
AIPAC‑linked networks poured millions into Illinois Democratic primaries through groups such as Affordable Chicago Now, Elect Chicago Women and the Chicago Progressive Partnership—roughly $4.5 million to boost Donna Miller and millions more behind Melissa Bean—helping those centrists prevail. The same coordinated tactics (shared vendors, innocuous local branding, crypto/AI PAC ads, negative campaigns and vote‑splitting maneuvers) failed in other races, as AIPAC‑backed efforts lost in IL‑7 (Melissa Conyears‑Ervin) and IL‑9 (where Daniel Biss prevailed despite heavy outside spending).
📌 Key Facts
- AIPAC-linked networks poured millions into multiple Illinois Democratic primaries using local-branded groups (Affordable Chicago Now, Elect Chicago Women, Chicago Progressive Partnership) and shared vendors; Chicago Progressive Partnership alone spent about $2 million and is confirmed to share vendors with AIPAC-linked entities.
- Donna Miller and Melissa Bean were aided by heavy AIPAC-affiliated spending: Miller was backed by nearly $4.5 million from Affordable Chicago Now; Bean was backed by roughly $3.3 million from Elect Chicago Women plus about $700,000 from Chicago Progressive Partnership.
- The outside spending produced mixed results: Axios and Fox frame Miller’s and Bean’s wins as important victories for AIPAC, but the network lost in at least two high-profile Chicago-area primaries — IL‑7 (Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears‑Ervin, despite more than $5 million in backing, lost a 13‑way primary to state Rep. LaShawn Ford) and IL‑9 (AIPAC‑aligned spending backed state Sen. Laura Fine and attacked Daniel Biss, but Biss won).
- In the crowded IL‑9 contest, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss won the Democratic primary (AP called the race); he was endorsed by retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky, faces criticism for his unclear stance on U.S. aid to Israel after meeting with AIPAC early in the campaign, and was also the subject of outside attacks and a reported 2004 'inappropriate romantic relationship' allegation acknowledged by his campaign.
- Tactical targeting included rebranding and vote‑splitting: AIPAC‑linked messaging recast centrists (e.g., Bean) as 'progressive' and 'foes of ICE,' attacked rivals with ideological and personal narratives (e.g., portraying Junaid Ahmed as tied to Elon Musk/fossil fuels), and Chicago Progressive Partnership both attacked Kat Abughazaleh and boosted Bushra Amiwala (a critic of Israel who denounced the ads) to split the progressive vote in IL‑9.
- Those covering the story put the Illinois results in national context: reporters note AIPAC’s mixed 2026 cycle — recent defeats in other races (New Jersey special, California) and examples of AIPAC‑backed winners later distancing themselves from the group — so the Illinois wins are portrayed as a notable but not definitive comeback.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2024, nearly 12% of residents in Illinois' 9th Congressional District were Jewish, according to a survey supported by the Jewish Electorate Institute.
Illinois 9th District race tests long Jewish legacy in 15-way Democratic Party fight to succeed Schakowsky — Chicago Tribune
The number of Jewish households in core areas of Illinois' 9th Congressional District, such as Skokie and Evanston, declined during the 2010s, making it the only region in the Chicago area to experience such a decrease, according to the Jewish United Fund’s 2020 Jewish Chicago population study.
Illinois 9th District race tests long Jewish legacy in 15-way Democratic Party fight to succeed Schakowsky — Chicago Tribune
From 1970 to 1990, the Hispanic population in the Chicago metropolitan area, which includes northern suburbs in Illinois' 9th District, rose from 3.5% to 8.0% statewide and to 12.1% in the metro area, driven by the 1965 Immigration Act that shifted immigration toward Latin America and Asia, contributing to a net influx of 72,719 Hispanics between 1985 and 1990.
Shaping Illinois: The Effects of Immigration, 1970-2020 — Center for Immigration Studies
From 1970 to 1990, the Asian population in the Chicago metropolitan area increased from less than 1% to 3.9%, with a net influx of 44,823 Asians between 1985 and 1990, influenced by the 1965 Immigration Act's changes to immigration sources.
Shaping Illinois: The Effects of Immigration, 1970-2020 — Center for Immigration Studies
Illinois' 9th Congressional District has had Jewish representation for nearly eight decades since the aftermath of World War II, with representatives like Sidney Yates (1948-1999) and Jan Schakowsky (1999-present), reflecting its historical identity as a Democratic stronghold with a significant Jewish population.
Illinois 9th District race tests long Jewish legacy in 15-way Democratic Party fight to succeed Schakowsky — Chicago Tribune
📰 Source Timeline (6)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Axios explicitly frames Donna Miller’s and Melissa Bean’s wins as 'much‑needed victories' for AIPAC and quotes a centrist House Democrat saying 'Illinois made AIPAC the comeback kid.'
- New spending details and branding tactics: Miller backed by nearly $4.5 million in ad spending from AIPAC‑affiliated Affordable Chicago Now; Bean backed by $3.3 million from Elect Chicago Women plus $700,000 from Chicago Progressive Partnership portraying Junaid Ahmed as a wealthy ally of Elon Musk and fossil‑fuel interests.
- Axios reports that Chicago Progressive Partnership not only attacked Abughazaleh but also 'boosted a left‑wing splinter candidate' (Bushra Amiwala) to split the progressive vote in IL‑9, a tactical detail not spelled out in the prior summary.
- The article notes that Bean was also supported by separate Crypto and AI PAC ads and that AIPAC‑linked messaging branded the centrist former lawmaker as a 'progressive fighter' and 'staunch foe of ICE,' underscoring ideological rebranding tactics.
- Axios adds national‑cycle context: recounting recent AIPAC defeats in the New Jersey special to replace Mikie Sherrill and in California (Dave Min), and noting that some AIPAC‑backed winners like Maxine Dexter and Valerie Foushee have since broken with the group on Israel.
- Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears‑Ervin, heavily backed by AIPAC and affiliates with more than $5 million in spending, lost a 13‑way Democratic primary in a deep‑blue Chicago‑area House district.
- State Rep. LaShawn Ford won that primary after emphasizing an endorsement from retiring longtime Rep. Danny Davis, who had represented the district for nearly three decades.
- Conyears‑Ervin previously paid a $30,000 fine in 2025 to resolve Chicago ethics‑panel charges that she misused city funds and retaliated against whistleblowers, baggage that followed an earlier failed 2024 primary challenge against Davis.
- Progressive activist Kina Collins and several other left‑wing candidates split votes on the party’s left flank, while AIPAC’s main super PAC also spent against developer Jason Friedman despite his raising more money than rivals.
- Fox notes that AIPAC has had mixed 2026 primary results, contrasting this defeat with its role in blocking Tom Malinowski’s comeback in a New Jersey special election where an even more Israel‑critical candidate, Analilia Mejia, ultimately won the Democratic nomination.
- Illinois’ 9th Congressional District Democratic primary was won by Daniel Biss, the mayor of Evanston and a former state lawmaker, who was endorsed by retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky.
- Far‑left influencer and former Media Matters journalist Kat Abughazaleh lost in a 15‑candidate field and was one of three front‑runners; another front‑runner, Fine, was backed by AIPAC‑linked groups and identified as the most moderate.
- Abughazaleh, 26, publicly opposed continuing Hakeem Jeffries’ leadership and was indicted on federal charges tied to agitators allegedly attacking an ICE vehicle outside a Chicago‑area holding facility.
- The district is rated D+19 by the Cook Political Report, so the Democratic primary winner is effectively assured of taking the seat in November, and Biss is now the presumptive next House member.
- AP has officially called the Illinois 9th District Democratic primary for Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, ending a crowded contest for a seat that has been held by Jan Schakowsky since 1999.
- NPR reports Kat Abughazaleh finished four percentage points behind Biss with more than 90% of the vote counted.
- The piece adds specific detail that AIPAC‑aligned individuals and groups spent millions attacking Biss and backing state Sen. Laura Fine, and that Biss, who is Jewish, met with AIPAC early in the campaign, later denounced the group, and faced criticism for not taking a clear stance on U.S. aid to Israel.
- The article reports a 2004 "inappropriate romantic relationship" allegation from a former student, with the Biss campaign acknowledging the relationship and calling it ill‑advised in a statement.
- NPR highlights Abughazaleh’s generational and ideological positioning, including her quote redefining the "true center" around affordability and rejecting compromise as "getting your hand cut off and being grateful they left you your pinky."
- Chicago Progressive Partnership has spent about $2 million in Illinois races and is now confirmed to share vendors with AIPAC-linked entities, strengthening evidence that it is part of a coordinated pro-Israel spending network.
- The group has specifically opposed Junaid Ahmed in IL‑8 and supported Bushra Amiwala while opposing Kat Abughazaleh in IL‑9, even though Amiwala is herself a critic of Israel and has publicly denounced the ads.
- Elect Chicago Women and Affordable Chicago Now—both working closely with AIPAC-tied groups—have separately poured millions into multiple districts, indicating a broader pattern of using innocuous local branding to intervene in primaries.