Kat Abu-Ghazaleh, a 26-year-old former social media influencer, is getting considerable backing from men as she competes in the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District. A new poll indicates she has a decent shot at winning, though her support among women appears to be slipping.
Having worked with Media Matters for America, Abu-Ghazaleh is currently in second place among 14 Democratic candidates. She’s trailing Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss by just four points according to a recent public opinion survey conducted by Public Policy Polling (PPP), commissioned by the Evanston Roundtable. In the poll, Biss is leading with 24% of voter support, followed closely by Abu-Ghazaleh at 20% and state Sen. Laura Fine at 14%. Interestingly, 17% of respondents were undecided.
When examining the results by gender, stark contrasts come into focus. Among male voters, Abu-Ghazaleh garnered 29% support, leading Biss with 21% and Fine with 12%, which really highlights her appeal to this demographic. In contrast, Biss has a significant lead among women, capturing 28% of their votes, while Fine has 15%, leaving Abu-Ghazaleh tied for third with state Sen. Mike Simmons at 12%.
Looking at perceptions, the poll showed that 47% of men have a favorable view of Abu-Ghazaleh, though only 31% view her unfavorably. On the flip side, a larger number of women—36%—held an unfavorable impression of influencers in general, as opposed to 34% who had a positive view.
Additionally, among gender non-binary respondents, Abu-Ghazaleh is considerably ahead with 37% support compared to just 11% for Biss.
Abu-Ghazaleh’s campaign hadn’t responded for comments at the time of this report.
According to a previous poll from PPP released on February 24, Biss had 24% while Abu-Ghazaleh had 17% and Fine 16%.
In a statement released by her campaign under the title “Abugamentum is ours,” Abu-Ghazaleh not only commented on her poll standing but also noted the obstacles posed by AIPAC affiliates donating over $1 million to undermine her campaign. “Momentum is ours. This is a two-way race,” she asserted. She emphasized that her campaign prioritizes addressing the people’s needs and opposing an authoritarian regime.
Abu-Ghazaleh’s outspoken nature was evident when she encouraged those feeling disillusioned with typical politics to take advantage of same-day voter registration available at polling places.
The 9th District, which is heavily Democratic, is expected to be a straightforward win for the victor of the March 17 primary in the general election. The current representative, Jan Schakowsky, is retiring after serving since 1999—the same year Abu-Ghazaleh was born. If she succeeds in the primary, she would become the youngest individual ever elected to Congress, surpassing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was 29 when first elected in 2018.
Controversially, Abu-Ghazaleh and five co-defendants were indicted by a grand jury for obstructing law enforcement outside an ICE facility last September.
In the recent PPP survey, conducted between March 9 and 10, a total of 741 likely Democratic primary voters were surveyed, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
