Illinois — 9th District

A woke social media influencer turned congressional hopeful lost her bid for a spot in the midterm elections to a professor accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student.

Kat Abughazaleh, 26, was edged out of the race in Illinois's 9th District, which covers a part of Chicago and its northern suburbs, by Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss.

Abughazaleh, who gained notoriety for her viral TikTok videos mocking Fox News and Tucker Carlson, was one of 15 Democrats competing in the crowded race for retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky's seat.

But she fell short after Biss secured 29.4 percent of votes in Tuesday's primary election. Abughazaleh trailed closely behind at 26.1 percent.

Chicago-based pastor John Elleson won the Republican party's nomination.

Abughazaleh campaigned on a platform of affordability and portrayed herself as the child of an immigrant who grew up in a humble Dallas house but failed to disclose that home was worth $3.3 million.

Throughout her campaign, the Gen-Z activist also developed a reputation for flakiness and unreliability, and even missed a virtual event after she overslept.

She cited her narcolepsy diagnosis, a chronic neurological sleep disorder, as the reason behind her absence. She admitted her condition is 'not an excuse' and said she was 'very embarrassed' by the situation.

Abughazaleh lost her congressional bid to Biss, who just hours before the polls opened, was thrust into scandal by his former student Megan Wachspress.

Wachspress, who was a Jeopardy! contestant in 2022, accused Biss of having a relationship with her while he was a mathematics professor at the University of Chicago.

'If he's going to get a national profile on the strength of a younger woman's campaign, I'm going to come out and say it: During his short-lived tenure as a math professor, Biss had an inappropriate romantic relationship with one of his undergraduate students. I was that student,' Wachspress wrote in a BlueSky post.

She and Biss were consenting adults, aged 20 and 26, respectively, during their relationship in 2004.

Wachspress had been a student in a class he was teaching, but the pair did not become romantically involved until after the course was completed, his campaign revealed.

A spokesperson for his campaign said they 'went on a handful of dates over the course of a few weeks' and that Biss 'realized then, as he does now, that it was ill-advised, and he ended it.'

In a statement on BlueSky late Tuesday night, Abughazaleh thanked all of her supporters for helping her 'do things never seen in American politics' and 'set a new standard from what we should expect from the people who try to represent us.'

'What we built matters, regardless of the outcome. And the work isn't over,' she wrote. 'Our grassroots movement forced every power — from AIPAC to the establishment — to use their entire arsenal, just to barely beat us.

'Our loss today merely makes the path easier for the next person who runs. It's an honor to be able to clear that path.'

She concluded with an expletive dig at the Trump Administration: 'F*** Trump. F*** ICE. Free Palestine.'

Abughazaleh's congressional campaign saw her supporters hand out fliers that portray her upbringing as being 'rather normal.'

The mail flier, drawn to look like a comic book, showed a small suburban 'Reagan Republican' home in the south.

'I was born in Texas, and grew up with a rather normal childhood, in a... plot twist! Reagan Republican household', the handout said. 'My family never took our rights for granted. I'm the daughter of a natural-born American and a Palestinian immigrant.'

But the depicted property was much smaller than the four-bedroom colonial revival home where Abughazaleh was raised.

The social media personality did not dispute the value of her former address, saying: 'This is something I think is being treated like some type of shocker, but I was given a lot of opportunities as a kid.'

She added: 'I was really lucky to have that, and I also as an adult have struggled like so many of my friends have.'

But when questioned about her lavish upbringing just last week, Abughazaleh described herself as currently being poor.

'Right now, yeah. I have depleted my savings. I have been financially independent since I was 21,' she told NBC Chicago.

Earlier this year, Abughazaleh made headlines after she revealed she suffered from narcolepsy to explain her not appearing at an important event in her campaign.

She said: 'It makes me extremely tired and occasionally causes 'sleep attacks', times when my brain literally cannot stay awake.

'My condition is usually well-managed but - like with any disability - has flare-ups and today was one of those.

'I ended up sleeping through alarms, calls, and even my campaign manager knocking on my door repeatedly.'

Last October, she was charged with two counts of conspiracy to impede or injure an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, along with assaulting or impeding that officer while he was on duty.

The indictment, which was filed on October 23, accused Abughazaleh as well as five others of attacking an ICE agent's vehicle by banging aggressively on the car's side, back windows, and hood.

Abughazaleh is accused of hindering and impeding the vehicle's movement and etching the word 'PIG' on the ICE officer's car.

If found guilty, she could face prison sentences of up to six years on the conspiracy charge and eight years for assaulting the ICE agent.

Abughazaleh's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the case on Monday, arguing her protest actions are protected under the First Amendment.

Footage previously reported by the Daily Mail shows Abughazaleh gathering with protesters outside the Broadview ICE detention center in Chicago.

At one point an agent confronted Abughazaleh for blocking the driveway of the facility and dragged her back before tossing her to the pavement.

More footage from September 26 featured Abughazaleh bracing her body against an ICE vehicle along with dozens more protesters.

The liberal responded to the indictment on social media by accusing the Trump Administration of political persecution.

The Daily Mail has approached the Abughazaleh and Biss campaigns for comment on the primary election results.