Schakowsky won't seek reelection to House seat in 2026

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) announced on Monday that she won’t seek another term in Congress in the midterms, teeing up an open race for the seat she’s held since 1999, her office announced.

“For the last 26 years, I have had the distinct honor and privilege of representing the 9th Congressional District of Illinois, my lifelong home and the best district in the nation. Today, it is with profound gratitude and the utmost appreciation for my constituents that I announce my decision not to seek reelection at the end of my current term," Schakowsky said in a release from her House office.

"It is now time for me to pass the baton. We are so fortunate in the 9th District that there are dozens of talented leaders, advocates, and organizers who know our community and who are ready to lead the charge as we fight back against the extreme MAGA agenda and President Donald Trump's shameful policies."

Schakowsky, who has represented Illinois’s 9th Congressional District for more than two decades, reportedly made the initial announcement at a private fundraiser event in Chicago, where Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland were in attendance.

She had won her latest term in the safe blue seat by around 37 points against a GOP competitor in November but was facing potential Democratic primary challengers in 2026 and questions about whether she'd seek another two years in the office.

Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old social media influencer, has snagged attention for her challenger bid with calls for generational change in the district.

“I want to thank Rep. Schakowsky for her decades of exceptional public service, both in the Illinois State Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives,” Abughazaleh said in a statement. The progressive congressional hopeful said that she doesn’t “agree with any politician completely,” but applauded Schakowsky’s “track record on key issues from Social Security to Palestinian human rights.”

The Democratic Party of Illinois on X praised Schakowsky, a vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, for “more than 25 years of unwavering service.” 

But the Republicans’ House campaign arm blasted the move, pointing to Democratic National Committee (DNC) vice chair David Hogg’s efforts to support primary challenges in safe blue seats, an initiative that’s drawn pushback from within the party. 

“David Hogg's crusade to primary Democrats with far-left AOC clones claims its first scalp. Democrats' race to the far-left has only just begun,” the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) said on X.