It's Time For Democrats To Unite And Win: 2026 IL Democratic Primaries Takeaways

The midterms are a little over 200 days away, and a blue wave is needed to wash away Trump's stink

Hello, Guerrilla Press Substack Subscribers!

Nick Hausman here. Co-owner of this wild progressive project we call Guerrilla Press.

As you may have noticed, our Substack feed has largely been used for announcements and other highlights from our live podcasts. Going forward, we’ll be delivering mostly daily humorous takes from our Guerrilla Press team, along with occasional announcements.

Starting today, with my thoughts on this most recent Illinois primary cycle.

1. The Foundations Of A Revolution

It’s no secret that Donald Trump won his second horrifying presidential term in part because of his successful appeal to younger voters. Whether it was appearing at major sporting events or discussing the merits of cocaine use with Theo Vonn, Trump was not afraid to go where young voters were to get their attention. Something Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did not seem as willing to do.

So, when EJ and I started Guerrilla Press, one of our primary goals was to find a way for Democrats to connect with their younger base. Like Joe Rogan, Theo Von, and many of the manosphere influencers who shaped youthful minds, we are partially educated comedians, but hopefully with better character judgment and jokes.

With that in mind, we set about courting the kinds of primary candidates we found most interesting, including the Illinois 9th District Congressional Candidate Kat Abughazaleh, and a variety of local Illinois candidates endorsed by Run For Something, for live podcast interviews. For those unfamiliar, Run For Something is a political organization that endorses progressive candidates under 40.

2. An Immediate Explosion

Our first guest was Abughazaleh, a journalist and influencer who has made her name by taking on right-wing figures like Tucker Carlson, both online and in person. She is also one of the “Broadview Six” who stood toe-to-toe with ICE thugs, was shoved to the ground for her troubles, and now faces federal charges. We were thrilled to have her as our first guest, as her outspoken and tenacious attitude reflects how many young progressives feel.

The interview was lit, with Abughazaleh demonizing ICE’s overreach, and generally tearing into the many abuses of power the Trump Administration is guilty of. We also had the chance to commiserate on the evilness of the McMahon family, which, as a former pro wrestling journalist, was a satisfying surprise for our conversation. They’re an evil bunch, the McMahons, and Linda overseeing the Department of Education should be horrifying to all. Just Google “Ring Boy Scandal” and never want to have any member of the McMahons near yours or anyone else’s children again.

What followed our conversation was an immediate call from many around us to interview Daniel Biss in an effort to “show both sides.” We had no issues with that and sent an email to Biss’s team inviting him to participate in a live podcast chat, but we never received a response.

I’d like to be clear that an interview with Guerilla Press is far from an endorsement; we’re just trying to follow the conversation. If that sounds like something Joe Rogan would say, it’s because it is. Even a stoned comedy mothership is right twice a day.

Our interview with Abughazaleh took place in mid-January, months before the primary, but the reaction to our conversation was indicative of what was to come: Yes, Kat knew what to say, but the public wanted to hear the same thing from a more experienced politician.

In the end, Biss adopted many of Abughazaleh’s talking points, including a harsher stance against America’s support of Israel. It should be noted that, beyond the enthusiasm Biss was seeing for Abughazaleh’s positions, he was also being attacked by AIPAC, which may have made him an enemy of the eventual primary winner.

3. Democrats Should Get Excited For The Midterms

While there were many hotly contested Illinois Democratic primaries, the Illinois 9th District Congressional race became the focal point for national coverage, something we did not expect. Many of Abughazaleh’s supporters were young, progressive voters looking for a non-traditional candidate, which we learned terrified more establishment Chicago politicians.

As a longtime Chicago political insider described it to us, we live in a city dominated by politicians waiting in line for their turn to climb the ladder. While Biss’s experience as Evanston’s mayor was seen by many, and eventually the majority, as a strength, younger voters who have not been positively affected by the current political climate saw it as a negative.

While a two-way race between Biss and Abughazaleh for the progressive soul of the Democrats had the potential to become an embittered dispute, I was heartened to see both sides find a common enemy in the AIPAC-backed Laura Fine. As Fine leaned into her more traditional Democratic talking points, Biss wisely moved his positions to the left in an attempt to win over Abughazaleh voters and expand his base.

Elsewhere, a similar strategy was used by Governor JB Pritzker, who threw his support behind the more progressive Illinois Senate candidate, Julianna Stratton, at the last miniute. Stratton went on to beat the more established Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Pritzker can look forward to a likely presidential run where he can expect support from both sides of the Democratic aisle.

Ultimately, I walk away from this primary season heartened by how the chips fell. While not all of our favorite progressive candidates, like Nick Uniejewski, picked up the win, it does feel like progressive positions are what is molding the Democreatic platform heading into the midterms. Universal Healthcare, abolishing ICE, and creating affordable housing are all platforms that seem like forgone conclusions for Democratic candidates, and that’s a win for progressives.

Despite Abughazaleh’s loss, I hope that young Illinois progressive, and young progressives across the country, can see that progressive issues are winning the day. It is usually at this point in the cycle that enthusiasm begins to fade among Democrats that did not see their candidates win the primaries, but I hope this cycle turns out differently.

The devil is not at Americans’ doorstep, he’s in our homes, and his name is Donald Trump. We need every Democrat united this November, and it’s time to get united. Just because your candidate may have been defeated, don’t feel defeated, because in order to get America back on track, we are going to need big wins this November.

Also, since this was supposed to be funnier than it turned out, please imagine a loud fart noise to wrap this up.