Jan Schakowsky Wins 12th Term Representing 9th District

This story was updated at 10:00 p.m.

Evanston Democrat Jan Schakowsky fended off a challenge from Skokie Republican Sargis Sangari to win a twelfth consecutive term in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Illinois' 9th Congressional District.

Schakowsky, 76, is a senior chief deputy whip and a member of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. She is also a member of the House Budget Committee and chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Sangari, 51, is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who founded the nonprofit United Assyrian Appeal and a think tank called Near East Center for Strategic Engagement. He immigrated to the United States from Iran at age 10 following the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and has previously sought the Republican Party nomination in the district.

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More from Patch Candidate Q&As:
Q&A: Sargis Sangari, Republican Candidate, 9th Congressional District
Q&A: Jan Schakowsky, Democratic Candidate, 9th Congressional District

The incumbent greatly outraised and outspent her opponent in this election cycle, according to fundraising numbers from the Center for Responsive Politics. Schakowsky raised nearly $1.8 million and spent about $1.4 million of it, as of the campaign's most recent report last month. Sangari had $1,600 remaining out of about $27,000 he had raised, as of his most recent report.

Illinois' 9th Congressional District is made up of all or parts of Evanston, Skokie, Wilmette, Northfield, Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Glenview, Lincolnwood, Niles, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Winnetka and Chicago's North Side.

The district is the 72nd-most Democratic Party-leaning district in the House of Representatives, according to data compiled by the Cook Political Report. In 2012, it voted for former President Barack Obama by a 32-point margin.

In 2016, 9th District voters voted for former U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton by 50 points over President Donald Trump. That year, Schakowsky defeated Wilmette Republican Joan McCarthy Lasonde by about 33 points. In 2018, Schakowsky defeated challenger John Elleson, of Arlington Heights, by a margin of 73.5-26.5. Earlier that year, Elleson had emerged atop a four-way primary where Sangari had finished second.