Liberal social media sensation Kat Abughazaleh and her family have a Palestinian ethnic background.
Influencer Kat Abughazaleh announced that she is launching a bid to unseat Rep. Jan Schakowky in the northern Chicago suburbs.
Highlights
- Kat Abughazaleh launched a bid to unseat Rep. Jan Schakowky in the northern Chicago suburbs. If she prevails in the district, Abughazaleh will be the first Gen Z woman elected to Congress.
- Abughazaleh and her family have a deep-rooted history with Palestinian Arab heritage.
- She was born to Susie Abughazaleh in 1999. Her mother is a volunteer, animal lover, and Philomath.
While announcing her candidacy through a video on Twitter, Kat said,
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk are dismantling our country piece by piece, and so many Democrats seem content to just sit back and let ‘em,” “So I say it’s time to drop the excuses and grow a f‑‑‑ing spine. I’m Kat Abughazaleh, and I’m running for Congress in Illinois’s 9th District.”
Kat Abughazaleh
Kat is a former video producer at the liberal watchdog Media Matters for America who has also garnered a TikTok following of more than 217k.
However, she declined to name Schakowsky explicitly in her video or on her website, and she clarified that the district needs a generational change. On her campaign website, she said,
“We deserve Representatives who face the same challenges we do (or at least have some time in the last decade),” “They don’t deal with out-of-pocket prescription costs or nightmarish rent hikes or existential fear about their lives in 50 years. You and I do.”
Kat Abughazaleh
Her website also maps a timeline of Schakowsky’s election to Congress and highlights that she has served 14 terms in the House.
In launching her campaign, Kat has positioned herself as a champion of the ordinary voter, railing against the increasing healthcare costs, housing, and necessities.
She is particularly critical of the lack of representation for people who face everyday challenges, an issue she believes Schakowsky has not addressed.
If Abughazaleh prevails in the district, she will be the first Gen Z woman elected to Congress; Rep. Maxwell Frost was the first Gen Z lawmaker elected to Congress in 2022.
While Schakowsky has been a reliable progressive vote for over two decades, Kat’s candidacy offers something different: a fresh voice and a new approach.
Influencer Kat Abughazaleh’s Ethnicity Is Rooted In Her Palestinian Arab Background
Although Congressional Candidate Kat Abughazaleh lives in Chicago, United States, her family is originally from Jaffa, Palestine.
Kat’s surname, “Abughazaleh,” is of Arabic origin. It is composed of “Abu,” meaning “father,” and “Ghazaleh,” which translates to “gazelle” or “doe.”
Given her paternal Palestinian heritage, Kat has Arab and Middle Eastern ancestry.
Therefore, Kat and his family have a deep-rooted history with Palestinian Arab heritage but hold American nationality.
Her heritage reflects the broader Palestinian displacement experience. Many Palestinians, including those from Jaffa, have settled in countries worldwide and maintain strong cultural traditions.
Kat Abughazaleh’s Parents Are Also Supporting Her Campaign
Liberal social media sensation Kat Abughazaleh, 26, was born in 1999 in Chicago, Illinois, United States, to her mother, Susie Abughazaleh, and her father, whose identity has not been revealed.
However, her parents have managed to avoid social media, so little about their personal life is known.
Recently, in Kat’s video, her father said that her daughter Kat is running for campaign because Democrats need to “grow a f**king spine.”
On the other hand, according to Kat’s mother, Susie’s Twitter handle, she is an animal lover, volunteer, and Philomath.
On July 1, 2023, Susie posted Kat’s photo on Twitter in which she wore the Space & Rocket Center uniform. In the comment section, some users thanked Susie for revealing that Kat is a Space Camp kid.
Although her parents have avoided the media spotlight, they have always supported Kat’s campaign.
In addition, Kat grew up with her brother. On October 31, 2024, Kat posted her and her brother’s childhood photo with the caption,
My brother and I also underwent very serious Hamas gun training, as you can see in this picture.
Kat Abughazaleh
Additional Information
- Her LinkedIn profile shows that she pursued her bachelor’s degree from Elliott School of International Affairs and served as Northeast Region Organizing Administrator from July 2018 to September 2018. She was a research assistant, staff writer, and culture editor at The GW Hatchet from 2019 to 2020.
- Kat Abughazaleh is unmarried. Moreover, she has not revealed her past relationships in the media.
- She was an associate producer for The Recount and, from May 2022 to February 2023, a senior video producer and rapid-response researcher at Media Matters for America.
