Kat Abughazaleh Narrows the Gap: New Poll Raises Stakes in 9th District Primary
In a late swing that reshapes a tightly contested primary, content creator kat abughazaleh has closed the distance on front-runner Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, the poll shows. The survey of likely Democratic primary voters one week before the March 17 (ET) primary finds kat abughazaleh up three points to 20%, narrowing the margin with Biss at 24% while a substantial undecided bloc remains.
Polling snapshot and background
A second poll conducted through Public Policy Polling surveyed 741 likely Democratic primary voters on March 9 and 10 (ET), reaching respondents by text-to-web messages and automated landline calls, with responses weighted to reflect the district’s demographics. The headline figures show Biss at 24% (unchanged from an earlier poll) and kat abughazaleh rising to 20% from the prior measurement. State Sen. Laura Fine slipped to 14%, separating her from the top two, while state Sen. Mike Simmons climbed to 10%.
Other candidates registered single-digit shares: former FBI agent Phil Andrew at 7%, Skokie school board member Bushra Amiwala at 6%, and state Rep. Hoan Huynh, economist Jeff Cohen and environmental engineer Justin Ford each at 1%. About 17% of likely voters remain undecided, a decline of five points from the prior poll but still large enough to influence the final result.
Kat Abughazaleh’s momentum and deep analysis
kat abughazaleh’s upward movement is concentrated among younger voters and in portions of the district where she has taken narrow geographic leads. The poll shows kat abughazaleh with a wide lead among voters ages 18–45, registering 34% in that cohort, while Biss performs best with voters aged 45–65 at 23% and those 65 and older at 31%.
Geographic splits shifted between the two polls. kat abughazaleh has narrowly taken the lead in the 7th State Senate District portion of the congressional map with 24%, compared with 21% for Biss and 19% for Simmons. She also leads in the 8th District segment with 22% versus Biss at 21%. By contrast, Biss expanded his advantage in the 9th Senate District — covering Evanston and adjacent northern suburbs — where he reached 31%, well ahead of Fine at 17% and kat abughazaleh at 13%.
Gender breakdowns show Biss doing best with female voters at 28% and kat abughazaleh performing strongest with male voters at 29%. Name recognition rose for the top six candidates between the two polls, while net favorability dipped for the leading trio. Biss retained a net favorability of +19%, a nine-point decline from a couple of weeks earlier; the poll’s published text is truncated on further details of kat abughazaleh’s net score.
Implications, expert perspectives and what comes next
The tightening between Biss and kat abughazaleh makes turnout patterns and the remaining undecided voters decisive in the final week before the March 17 (ET) primary. The poll’s methods — weighted responses from 741 likely voters reached by text-to-web and automated calls — underline both the fluidity of the race and the electoral importance of younger voters and specific state senate subdistricts within the congressional map.
Daniel Biss, Evanston Mayor, remains the front-runner on raw share, while state Sen. Laura Fine and state Sen. Mike Simmons hold more distant positions. Phil Andrew, former FBI agent; Bushra Amiwala, Skokie school board member; state Rep. Hoan Huynh; economist Jeff Cohen; and environmental engineer Justin Ford round out the field numerically. The undecided 17% and recent shifts in geographic support mean small changes in turnout could alter the outcome.
With one week to go, the central question is whether kat abughazaleh can convert younger-voter leads and narrow geographic advantages into sufficient votes across the district’s varied subregions, or whether Biss’s strength among older and Evanston-area voters will preserve his edge. Will the undecided cohort consolidate behind one challenger or distribute in a way that defers the result to turnout dynamics on March 17 (ET)?
