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She Fought the Far Right Online for Years. Now She Wants to Do It in Congress


Kat Abughazaleh, 26, made her name swatting down right-wing talking points on social media. Now she’s hoping internet fame can propel her to Congress.

Within minutes, locals sloshing to-go margaritas in plastic cups stopped to pepper her with questions, like her stance on organized labor (pro), what her “main issue” is (“antiauthoritarianism”), and her thoughts on contemporary sci-fi and fantasy ( Red Rising is superior to A Song of Ice and Fire). She hired a fellow Gen Z campaign manager, Sam Weinberg, who lived in Evanston as a child; they’re focusing on a series of mutual-aid-oriented programs and events, from picking up garbage at the lakefront and local parks to parties where the cost of entry was tampons, boxes of pads, or supplies for the headquarters’ food bank. (Sample Bluesky comment: “I’m a supporter and this isn’t a deal breaker or anything, but in this case the critics are right.”) Another one of her opponents, state senator Laura Fine, pointed out on social media that Illinois legislators had already passed laws making it difficult to operate payday-loan businesses.

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