AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Voters in Illinois head to the polls this Tuesday for primary elections. For Democrats, the vote in this reliably blue state comes as many within the base are demanding change, with some even calling for a new generation of leaders. NPR political reporter Elena Moore traveled to one Chicago area district to see how those calls are resonating with candidates.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: You want me to just take it to go?
ELENA MOORE, BYLINE: It's Saturday morning, and a bunch of local union members file into a small campaign office in Evanston, Illinois. They prep for a day of canvassing. There's coffee and doughnuts. It's a traditional campaign scene.
DANIEL BISS: I'm the mayor. If you're not from here, welcome to Evanston.
MOORE: Folks are here to support Daniel Biss, mayor of this small city north of Chicago. It's part of a district that's had the same member of Congress for the last 27 years, Democrat Jan Schakowsky. The 81-year-old is retiring, and the top candidates vying to replace her span three generations, from Gen X and Millennials to Gen Z. So voters have to decide what a new era of Democratic leadership here should look like. Schakowsky is hoping to pass the torch to Biss, a 48-year-old Gen Xer.
BISS: The balance of power is shifting from workers to corporations. We got to blow that up, and I'm going to go to Congress and be a part of blowing that up.
MOORE: Recent polls show Biss leading in a field of more than a dozen Democrats.
BISS: There's nobody else who's done both things that I think we need right now - fought and won inside of government and fought and won out on the streets. And I just don't think we can afford to compromise on either of those two things.
MOORE: Thirty-year-old supporter Seara Clayborn showed up to canvas.
SEARA CLAYBORN: I like his idea of, like, progressive change in moderation as somebody that is not the biggest fan of drastic change instantly.
MOORE: This has establishment support, though he also says Democrats need to fight harder against President Trump's agenda and push harder for solutions to high costs. But in this district, where the primary is more competitive than the general, policies aren't what's dividing the field. Instead, it's over how much they want to scrap party norms, both in office and on the campaign trail.
KAT ABUGHAZALEH: Yeah. Do you want me to...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: ...In the lobby to stop to talk...
MOORE: Ten minutes away, on the north side of Chicago, 26-year-old first-time candidate Kat Abughazaleh is knitting a hat for one of her supporters.
ABUGHAZALEH: So we had a livestream where we promised anyone who donated, like, above X amount, I would make them a hat, and so this is the last hat that I have to finish.
MOORE: The campaign hosts a weekly knitting circle where supporters can come by the office and talk politics.
ABUGHAZALEH: Bipartisanship is negotiating different approaches to a similar goal. That goal should be everyone can afford housing, groceries and health care with money left over to save and spend. But we can't just look at compromise as getting your hand cut off and being grateful they left you your pinky.
MOORE: Abughazaleh has a background as a progressive researcher and commentator. She's faced concerns about her knowledge of the area, having only moved to Chicago in 2024. But she's also one of the most watched candidates in this race with a large online presence and a nontraditional ground game. The campaign phone banks and canvases, but they also hold events like this one. As Abughazaleh knits, she tells the group what she thinks is wrong with her party.
ABUGHAZALEH: The Democratic Party has been terrified of the idea of progressive populism because it means risking power. It means not being able to have a stranglehold on donors and on reelections.
MOORE: It's part of a broader anti-establishment message, energizing many Democrats. And though folks in this district say age won't decide their vote, some younger supporters admit they do share generational experiences, especially with financial concerns. Many also worry about the role of special interest groups in politics. Abughazaleh has criticized Democrats for accepting money from super PACs and pro-Israel lobbying groups like AIPAC. Those are top issues for Jim Kress. He's in his late 30s and actually voted for Biss when he ran for governor a few years ago, but now he's backing Abughazaleh.
JIM KRESS: It's just like your typical neoliberal Democratic establishment that I'm tired of seeing and tired of giving my vote to. So Kat pretty much hit the nail on the head when she said, the people you vote for should be working for you, not the other way around.
MOORE: Biss has sworn off donations from AIPAC, but it's a fight that's captured attention in this race.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
AUTOMATED VOICE: This is a yellow line train to Dempster-Skokie.
MOORE: Twenty-eight-year-old Bushra Amiwala has struggled to break through in the race, but looking out the window, she still sees a path to victory.
BUSHRA AMIWALA: I literally have seen three different Bushra yard signs that I just happened to see, and it's 'cause we're in home base right now.
MOORE: At 21, she was one of the first members of Gen Z elected to office, serving on her local school board. Now Amiwala wants to represent her hometown in Congress. But the crowded field is a challenge.
AMIWALA: It can be really confusing and difficult to navigate the myriad of options we have, but that's why this election matters so much.
MOORE: It's districts like these, she says, where progressive leaders can push for ambitious policy. So at a moment when some longtime Democrats are stepping aside, who voters elect in solid blue seats like this one could offer a glimpse into the party's future.
Elena Moore, NPR News, Chicago.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE RUGGED NUGGETS "RUGGED WALK") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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