Rep. Jan Schakowsky Shooting For 14th Term In Congress Against Gen Z Republican Seth Cohen

EVANSTON, IL — In the 9th Congressional District, a long-shot Generation Z candidate is challenging a top-ranking member of Congress and the Silent Generation.

Voters across the north and northwest suburbs head to the polls Tuesday to choose between incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky and her 14th Republican challenger, Seth Cohen, a U.S Marine Corps veteran and nonprofit co-founder currently attending business school.

Schakowsky, 80, is the senior chief deputy whip within the leadership of the House Democratic Caucus, which is hoping to take back control of the chamber after Election Day.

Cohen, 27, founded Chicago Brigade, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit aimed at providing professional development opportunities to student veterans, while attending the University of Chicago following four years of active duty service.

Illinois' 9th District has been represented by Schakowsky since 1999. The district currently stretches into portions of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties and has traditionally leaned Democratic.

"Tragically, gerrymandering by the State Legislature has facilitated Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky’s 25 year stint in the US Congress, since Seth was 2 years old, from 1999 to now," according to Cohen's campaign website. "Though Seth has the greatest respect for the Congresswoman and her service to our country, it is imperative that new leadership is elected."

Schakowsky and Cohen have presented diverging views on nearly every issue. On reproductive rights, Schakowsky supports federal protections for abortion access, while Cohen agrees with the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which allows states to set abortion laws individually.

Cohen supports a flat tax or a simplified tax code with reduced government spending, while Schakowsky called for reversing tax cuts for top brackets passed under President Donald Trump.

"This is the richest country in the world right now. We can absolutely afford to make sure that people have the funds that they need," the Evanston Democrat said at a League of Women Voters candidate forum. "We need to make sure that ordinary people have the funds they need."

As for gun control, Schakowsky has advocated for a national assault weapons ban, citing Illinois’ recent state-level ban, while Cohen argues that mental health support is a more effective approach to reducing gun violence.

"We're not talking about all guns, or all weapons, but the fact that we have seen, uniquely in the United States of America, so many people slaughtered by what are really weapons of war — right now, in the United States, the number one cause of death of young people and adolescents in guns," Schakowsky said in a Daily Herald forum. "That's the major cause of death."

The district has a history of Democratic victories, with no Republican candidate ever reaching more than 33 percent of the vote against Schakowsky.

"To those voters who consistently vote Democrat, I’m asking you to consider giving me a chance," Cohen said in response to a Patch candidate questionnaire. "I am a young U.S. military veteran, father, and husband, committed to making a positive difference in our community. Congress is a two-year term, and if you feel you’ve made a mistake in voting for me, it can be easily corrected."

Read more: Seth Alan Cohen, Republican For Congress In 9th District: Patch Candidate Questionnaire

Schakowsky's campaign did not respond to the questionnaire.

Leading up to Election Day, the congresswoman has campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic Party candidates in the swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan.

Cohen’s campaign has faced an uphill battle in funding, with the Republican receiving minimal financial support from party leadership.

According to his latest financial report, he raised just over $3,600 in the last quarter, mostly from individual donations. Schakowsky, in contrast, raised over $150,000, nearly half of it coming from political action committees.

The 9th Congressional District includes all or part of Algonquin, Arlington Heights, Barrington Hills, Buffalo Grove, Cary, Chicago's North Side, Crystal Lake, Des Plaines, Evanston, Forest Lake, Fox River Grove, Glencoe, Glenview, Golf, Hawthorn Woods, Island Lake, Kildeer, Lake Barrington, Lake in the Hills, Lake Zurich, Lakewood, Lincolnwood, Long Grove, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, North Barrington, Northbrook, Northfield, Park Ridge, Port Barrington, Prospect Heights, Skokie, Tower Lakes, Trout Valley, Wheeling, Wilmette and Wauconda.

Polls in Illinois are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Anyone still in line to vote at 7 p.m. will be allowed to cast their ballot. Mail-in ballots postmarked Tuesday or before must be received within two weeks to be counted.

Read more: Incumbent Jan Schakowsky, Challenger Seth Cohen Draw Sharp Contrasts In Candidate Forum