Saying he wants to “step back and reflect on my candidacy,” Democrat Bruce Leon has announced he’s suspending his congressional campaign in the largely suburban 9th District.

The decision came at the urging of supporters and friends who “lost their nerve” in the competitive race to succeed veteran U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Leon said in an email this week.

“They worry that a strongly pro-U.S.-Israel and small business-friendly candidate cannot win a Democratic primary in the 9th Congressional District,” said Leon, an entrepreneur who serves as a Democratic committeeperson in Chicago. “Out of respect, I have agreed to press pause.”

In his email, Leon said his campaign would be suspended for one week. Illinois’ primary election is March 17, and the last day candidates can withdraw their names from primary ballots is Thursday, Jan. 8.

Neither Leon nor a campaign spokesperson responded to interview requests.

The 9th District includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties. Schakowsky, of Evanston, opted not to seek reelection to the seat she’s had since 1999.

Other media outlets have reported Leon, who is Jewish, said he’s dropping out because he doesn’t have support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an influential and well-funded lobbying group.

AIPAC has sent emails backing Laura Fine, a Jewish state senator from Glenview, in the 9th District clash. The Fine campaign couldn’t be reached for comment on Friday.

AIPAC and the American politicians it backs have been targeted by supporters of the Palestinian people affected by the war in Gaza. Conversely, AIPAC has been critical of 9th District candidate Kat Abughazaleh, a Chicagoan who is a Palestinian American and one of the front-runners in the contest.

With parts of Skokie, Northbrook and Chicago’s West Rogers Park neighborhood, the 9th District has a relatively large Jewish population. Its congressional representatives for the past 60 years – Schakowsky and before her, Sidney Yates – have been Jewish.

The Abughazaleh campaign said AIPAC is trying to winnow the candidate field because the group is afraid of her momentum.

“They know our campaign will stand up to foreign lobby influence in U.S. elections,” spokesperson Ramiro Sarmiento said. “Voters deserve a democracy where elections are decided by people, not by organizations spending millions to manipulate the outcome.”

Since halting his campaign, Leon has received public support from Chicago-area Democrats, including state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, who said it’s up to the voters, not outside groups, to decide who should serve.

“Bullying and threatening a candidate to withdraw from a race is about as undemocratic as it gets,” Cassidy said Tuesday on X.

Leon largely has self-funded his campaign with two loans totaling $800,000, federal documents indicate. His outside fundraising hadn’t climbed out of the five-figure range by the end of 2025’s third quarter.

In contrast, Abughazaleh and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss already had crossed the million-dollar fundraising threshold by then.

If Leon drops out, 16 Democrats would remain in the running for the party’s nomination in the March 17 primary. In addition to Fine, Abughazaleh and Biss, the field includes state Sen. Mike Simmons of Chicago, state Rep. Hoan Huynh of Chicago and Skokie school board member Bushra Amiwala.

The other Democrats are Phil Andrew, Natalie Angelo, Patricia A. Brown, Jeff Cohen, Justin Ford, Mark A. Fredrickson, Bethany Johnson, Sam Polan, Nick Pyati and Howard Rosenblum.

Four candidates are running for the Republican nomination.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20260102/us-congress-politics/saying-backers-lost-their-nerve-democrat-halts-campaign-in-9th-congressional-district/