Two weeks after halting his bid for U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s 9th Congressional District seat and a week after saying he would resume a campaign schedule, entrepreneur Bruce Leon has formally withdrawn and endorsed a rival candidate.

Leon, a Democratic ward committeeperson in Chicago, is backing Phil Andrew, a Wilmette resident and former FBI agent.

Leon filed paperwork to withdraw Tuesday with the Illinois State Board of Elections. His departure from the contest leaves 16 candidates for the Democratic nomination in the 9th, a historically liberal district that includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties. Four Republicans are running, too.

Schakowsky, an Evanston Democrat, isn’t seeking reelection to the seat she’s held since 1999.

In a news release, Leon said Andrew’s professional experience and personal experience as a survivor of gun violence make him an ideal lawmaker.

Andrew was among the people shot by school-shooter Laurie Dann in 1988, when he was a college student and she took his family hostage after shooting children inside a Winnetka elementary school.

“Phil is about public service, not self-service,” Leon said. “We don’t need lifetime politicians fighting for us at a time when our institutions are under attack.”

In the same release, Andrew expressed gratitude for Leon’s endorsement.

Leon initially suspended his campaign in late December at what he said was the urging of supporters and friends who “lost their nerve.” Leon, who is Jewish, said he’d been pressured by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an influential and well-funded lobbying group, to quit.

A day after the Jan. 7 deadline for candidates to withdraw their names from March 17 primary ballots, Leon told the Daily Herald he’d be resuming campaign activities because 9th District residents deserve a moderate lawmaker “who will stand up unapologetically against antisemitism … and who will defend the U.S.-Israel alliance without fear or hesitation.”

AIPAC has supported state Sen. Laura Fine of Glenview, who also is Jewish, for the 9th District seat but hasn’t formally endorsed her. It’s also criticized 9th District Democratic hopefuls Daniel Biss, who is Jewish, and Kat Abughazaleh, who is Palestinian American.

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.

Andrew is Catholic.

Schakowsky has endorsed Biss, a former state legislator who now serves as Evanston’s mayor.

Leon largely has self-funded his campaign with loans that totaled $800,000 as of September 2025, the most recent Federal Election Commission financial reports show.

In contrast, Biss and Abughazaleh each had raised more than $1 million by that point.

Andrew’s campaign had raised about $726,000 by the same point, including a $200,000 loan from the candidate.

Year-end financial reports are due by Jan. 31 and will be viewable at fec.gov.

Although the formal deadline for candidates to withdraw passed before Leon dropped out, his name won’t be on ballots. County clerks were scheduled to certify ballots Wednesday, so the forms haven’t been printed yet, an elections board spokesperson said.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20260114/us-congress-politics/bruce-leon-drops-out-of-9th-cong-race-endorses-phil-andrew/