As a journalist and researcher covering the far right, my colleagues and I spent years warning congressional leaders about the threat it posed. No one listened. I got sick of people in power refusing to listen, so in 2024 I decided to run myself.
I’m a 26-year-old, Palestinian American, grassroots congressional candidate running to represent Illinois’ Ninth District. I’m a renter, a formerly uninsured worker, and a union representative running to bring a new generation of leadership to Congress, defend democracy, fight for economic justice, and advance a humane foreign policy.
I launched my congressional campaign in March of 2024, posting this video.
Why run in Illinois?
Illinois does a lot of things right, whether it’s reproductive rights, queer rights, or climate action. That’s why people move here from red states, as refugees in our own country. Chicago welcomes people from across the world, including my own family, who found a home in Illinois after my grandparents were displaced from Jerusalem during the Nakba.
My grandpa was able to pursue higher education at George Williams College in Chicago, where he wrote his thesis on the Palestinian diaspora. My father learned English in the South Loop and later proposed to my mom on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Chicago is where my family’s American dream began, so when we had the opportunity to move here in early 2024 for my partner’s job I was so excited to call it home.
Then November of 2024 happened, and everything changed.
We are not running a traditional campaign, and that is not a bad thing.
I was the first person to jump into this race. We now have the most competitive primary in the country. That is what democracy looks like.
This campaign is about showing, not telling.
I want to demonstrate to voters who I am and what I stand for, not just telling people and hoping they believe me. Some would say that being the most unabashedly progressive candidate in the field would narrow our path to victory, but being transparent and honest is the right thing to do — and it resonates with voters.
This campaign is about showing, not telling. Our campaign office doubles as a mutual aid hub that collects and distributes toiletries, hygiene products, clothes, books, bags, sanitation supplies, NARCAN, diapers, food, and more. Like all campaigns, the goal is to win; however, our greatest priority is direct action now, and knowing that even if we lose this race, we will have made a great impact on our community.
I'm running for Congress because the same old shit isn't working.
If you are angry about what this administration is doing, if you want someone who has already forced my opponents to be more aggressive toward this administration and more progressive in their views, if you want someone who will do the right thing without being pushed, then vote for me.
