CHICAGO: Arab Americans running in several Illinois primary elections fell short of their goals on Tuesday, but so did candidates supported with millions of dollars in campaign contributions from pro-Israel Political Action Committees.
In primary elections, voters select the candidates who will represent their political parties separately, Democrats or Republicans, in general elections.
Several of the contests took place in communities with large Arab and Muslim populations concerned about wars in the Middle East. But in some cases, other issues appeared to determine election results.
In the 7th Congressional District, Palestinian-American Democratic candidate Reed Showalter lost decisively, running in eighth place in a 13-candidate field and receiving only 5.92 percent of the vote.
Democrat Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who received more than $5 million from pro-Israel PACs, also lost, coming in second with only 14.11 percent of the vote.
The winner of the Democratic nomination was African-American candidate and current Illinois State Legislator La Shawn Ford, who focused less on the Middle East and more on issues such as improving the economy. Ford won with 24.41 percent of the vote.
In the 9th Congressional District, which has been held by Jewish Democrats since 1949 except for 1963-1964, Palestinian American Kat Abughazaleh, a journalist and social media celebrity, trailed in third place with 19 percent of the vote.
The declared winner was Jewish American Daniel Biss, mayor of the city of Evanston, who received 34 percent of the vote.
Laura Fine, a Jewish-American Illinois state senator who reportedly received more than $4 million from pro-Israel PACs, ran second behind Biss with 24.9 percent of the vote.
In the 2nd Congressional District’s Democratic primary, Donna Miller received more than $6.4 million from pro-Israel PACs, winning with 43 percent of the vote.
She defeated Jesse L. Jackson Jr., who received 29.42 percent of the vote. Both are African American.
Sympathetic to Arab issues, Jackson is the son of civil rights icon Jesse L. Jackson, who died last month.
Democrat Robert Peters, who ran fourth in the 2nd Congressional District, spoke out against “genocide” and US funding of “foreign wars,” and criticized the influence of pro-Israel PACs in the elections.
In the 6th Congressional District’s Democratic primary, Joseph Ruzevich, who received strong support from Arab-American groups, lost in a head-to-head contest with three-term incumbent Congressman Sean Casten. Casten won with 73.67 percent of the vote while Ruzevich received only 23.33 percent.
Casten drew the ire of Arab Americans when he ousted pro-Palestinian Congresswoman Marie Newman in 2022.
She had represented the 3rd Congressional District, which has a large concentration of Palestinian voters, for one term.
In a non-congressional contest, first-time Palestinian-American candidate Wesam Shahed lost in a bid for a seat in the Cook County Board’s 6th District, which has a large Arab-American population.
Patricia Joan Murphy won with 37 percent of the vote while Shahed received 33 percent. Three other candidates split the remaining votes.
Although money from pro-Israel PACs was not a factor in the Murphy-Shahed contest, Shahed raised more than $650,000, mostly from Arab and Muslim groups. Murphy raised about $130,000.
The Arab community was divided on the contest as Murphy has been a strong ally of Arab Americans in her current public position as Worth Township Democratic committeewoman.
