Daniel Biss won Illinois' 9th Congressional District seat on Tuesday, Nov. 3, by a roughly 50-point margin. He immediately pledged to use a new Democratic majority in Congress to investigate the Trump administration's Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Speaking to reporters at Jarvis Square Tavern in Rogers Park, Biss said congressional hearings should target what he called abuse of power at the DOJ and attacks on communities by DHS, according to Evanston Now. He vowed to use "every lever at Congress' disposal" to hold the administration accountable.

More than 100 supporters packed the bar, crowding outdoor seating and standing in the doorway as results came in. The Associated Press showed Biss with 75.8% of the vote to Republican John Elleson's 24.2%, with an estimated 94% of ballots counted as of Wednesday, Nov. 4, Evanston Now reported.

The roughly 50-point margin is the largest in the 9th District since 2008, according to the outlet.

Biss will succeed retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who is stepping down after 14 terms. Schakowsky has not received more than 75% of the vote since 2004. Biss called her his "political hero."

He is set to take office Jan. 3, 2027. He has not committed to supporting any candidate for House Speaker, saying he would wait to see who runs. Current House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries is expected to seek the position, Evanston Now reported.

ADL raises concerns

Hours after the victory, ADL Midwest posted on social media expressing what it called serious concerns about Biss's approach to antisemitism, the Forward reported. The statement pointed to his record as Evanston's mayor. The ADL said Biss did not provide Evanston police support that Northwestern University requested after reported antisemitic conduct at a Gaza war encampment on campus in April 2024, according to the Forward.

The ADL also said Biss dismissed scrutiny of his encampment response as politically motivated by AIPAC rather than addressing concerns from Jewish students, the Forward reported. The organization criticized his support for repealing an Illinois law barring public pension fund investments in companies that boycott Israel.

Biss has defended his encampment decision. He wrote in response to a congressional inquiry that forcibly clearing the protest would have gone against police department advice and suppressed constitutionally protected speech, according to the Forward.

J Street fires back

J Street, the liberal Zionist group that endorsed Biss, called the ADL's statement a disgrace, the Forward reported. Biss, who is the grandson of Holocaust survivors and speaks Hebrew, responded in a statement to the Forward calling the ADL an organization that traffics in fear, intimidation and extremism.

The 9th District's electorate is about 11% Jewish, according to the Forward. Biss made opposition to AIPAC a central theme of his primary campaign after the pro-Israel lobbying group spent millions opposing him and supporting state Sen. Laura Fine, the Forward reported.

"The American people have had it with this nonsense and they want change," Biss told reporters on election night.