Candidates — many from crowded Illinois’ 9th race — mix it up with voters ahead of 2026 midterm elections

More than a dozen different candidates running for federal and state office gathered Sunday afternoon inside a Jewish community center in Northbrook, and after each claimed a table, spread out their various campaign flyers, cards and buttons. 

The event, organized by the Chicago Jewish Alliance and hosted by the Tikvah Center for Jewish Recovery and Healing, offered area voters an unmoderated opportunity to meet their prospective representatives face to face ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

“We don’t feel that we have a luxury not to get involved any longer,” said Inna Brodkin, an Evanston resident who attended the forum to learn the candidates’ views on subjects like immigration, public education and America’s relationship with Israel.

Ethan Slyder, CEO of the Chicago Jewish Alliance, said 158 residents signed up online to attend the Sunday mixer.

He added that his nonprofit has done research that shows the Jewish community could increase its voting participation, and so he sought to foster more engagement. 

“We wanted to facilitate a way where Jews could not only come out and register to vote but also meet the candidates that are in the most predominantly Jewish areas of the greater Chicagoland area,” Slyder said. 

The room on Sunday was crowded in part because 21 individuals have now officially entered the race to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District after 14-term U.S. House Rep. Jan Schakowsky announced earlier this year she is not seeking re-election.

The Democratic candidates running in that field who were present at the Tikvah Center were Wilmette’s Phil Andrew, Skokie’s Bushra Amiwala, Evanston’s Daniel Biss, Kat Abughazaleh, Jeff Cohen, Laura Fine, Justin Ford, Bruce Leon, Nick Pyatti, Sam Polan, Howard Rosenblum and Mike Simmons.

The Republican candidates running for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District who were present at the forum were Rocio Cleveland and Mark Su.

Polan, a candidate with a military background, said he had many conversations with voters about the government shutdown and deployment of the national guard. 

He added he appreciated the unmoderated discussions because standard forums typically only provide candidates 30 seconds to answer what can be complicated questions. 

“Especially in such a crowded race and as a first-time candidate, name recognition is the biggest rule so I’m always looking for events like these or anything like this where I get an opportunity to actually talk to voters,” Polan said. 

In the race for Illinois House 17th district, Republican candidate Jim Geldermann was present at the forum on Sunday. Election records show he is running against the Democratic incumbent Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz.

“My campaign is built on getting people to take their role and responsibility as citizens seriously,” Geldermann, who lost to Gong-Gershowitz in the 2024 election, said. “To be able to do that, I need to be able to network with people and meet as many people as possible.”

In the race to become state senator from Illinois’ Ninth Legislative District, Democratic candidates Patrick Hanley and Rachel Ruttenberg were both present at the forum on Sunday. The two will face each other come primary election day on March 17, 2026. 

Ruttenberg said she and her volunteers are knocking on lots of doors as they canvass for her campaign, but the Sunday forum offered a complementary way to meet voters as not every constituent is home or accessible when she does outreach during the week. 

Hanley echoed that canvassing and attending events like Sunday’s provide an important vehicle to show voters in the district’s many different communities that they are seen and valued. He noted his campaign literature has been printed in both Hebrew and Assyrian. 

At one point, a handful of voters stood around Abughazaleh’s table on Sunday as they asked questions and shared their concerns about the candidate’s views on Israel and Gaza. 

Afterwards, Abughazaleh said she understands why there are “a lot of emotions involved” in those discussions given the rise in antisemitic violence since Oct. 7, 2023. She felt that on Sunday those conversations, which are “vitally important” and “very personal,” were productive.

“There are people that disagree with me, but for the large part I just tried to stress I’m Palestinian, my life and future is intertwined with every Jewish person, and vice versa, and people try to use our trauma against us to pit us against each other, and we can’t have peace unless all of us are safe,” Abughazaleh said. 

Ford, a candidate who said he runs further to the “left” on certain issues like labor or social security than the Chicago Jewish Alliance, added the forum was a good opportunity for an aspiring leader to listen and figure out where he and his potential constituents can disagree or come together.

“That’s what conversations are supposed to be about, like, can we get aligned? And in a place like this is good, it’s an important part of Illinois’ 9th, the Assyrian and Jewish communities,” Ford said.

“If they don’t agree with me that’s fine, that doesn’t mean I won’t fight for them,” he said. “That’s part of being a congressperson is: You have to fight for everybody.”

The Illinois State Board of Elections recently released the full slate of candidates who are on the November midterm ballot for the Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, which encompasses communities like Skokie, Evanston and Wilmette.

Other Democratic candidates in the race are Patricia A. Brown, Bethany Johnson, Natalie Angelo, Hoan Huynh and Mark Arnold Frederickson, while the other Republican candidates are John Elleson and Paul Friedman.

Illinois residents can register online to vote until March 1, 2026. Voters must be U.S. citizens and residents of their election precinct at least 30 days prior to election day.

The midterm election will land on Nov. 3, 2026; though early voting will begin sooner.

Other key races on the ballot include U.S. Senator Dick Durbin’s seat, who announced he would retire in 2026 after holding the position for 28 years. Incumbent Governor JB Pritzker is also running for a third term with a crowded field of Republican challengers.

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