Daniel Biss, the mayor of Evanston, Ill., has won the Democratic primary for the state's 9th congressional district, according to a race call by The Associated Press, topping a crowded field in the race for a Chicago-area seat that has not been open for nearly three decades.
His victory in the safe blue district ends a highly contested primary of more than a dozen Democrats running to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky, 81, who first took office in 1999.
With endorsements from Schakowsky and other national leaders such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Biss was seen as the frontrunner heading into the race. On the campaign trail, he sought to differentiate himself by emphasizing both his background in elected office and his willingness to push for progressive causes and against President Trump's agenda.
"I just don't think we can afford to compromise on either of those two things," he told NPR in an interview ahead of the primary.
Tuesday's results serve as an early indication of what Democratic voters are looking for from the next generation of party leaders, and how much change they feel is needed in this moment when the party is shut out of power in Washington, D.C.