“What I’ve been most frustrated with politics is how impersonal it is and so we’re trying to make it accessible and personal again.”
Kat Abughazaleh is running for Congress, challenging long-time incumbent Jan Schakowsky in Illinois’ 9th District.
Needless to say, Kat doesn’t look like, sound or act like your typical candidate. Her announcement video led with the simple question: What if we didn’t suck?
She’s called on Democrats to “drop the excuses and grow a fucking spine,” and has made it clear she’s not interested in playing it safe while Donald Trump and Republicans steamroll the country. In her words: “while current Democratic leadership might be fine cowering to Trump, I’m not.”
One of my favorite parts of her digital program so far: her website lists anti-endorsements, which include personal attacks leveled against her from Elon Musk, Libs of TikTok and Tucker Carlson. Epic.
She’s also doing something I’ve never seen before from any political campaign: she’s prioritizing Bluesky—yes, Bluesky—as her primary platform. She’s not just hedging her bets on Twitter. She said during her launch, “I’m prioritizing Bluesky this election not only because it’s more ethical—but because it just makes sense.” Which is fascinating to me.
Throughout our conversation, we spoke about:
- Why she’s prioritizing Bluesky over the cesspool that is Twitter
- Features on Bluesky she’s really excited about
- What she wishes Democrats were doing with their social programs
- Why we need to give progressive content creators more room to be themselves
- How Fox News built its power on the bedrock of fear
- Why we need to focus on the “puncture” to help break folks out of the Fox News/rightwing media bubble
- How America should be fighting back against Elon Musk
- And a whole lot more!
”Republicans control the narrative because democrats often let them. They’re always reacting, and you can’t always be reacting. Otherwise, you’re letting them set the terms — you’re letting Republicans say this is what reality is.”
Find all episodes at HelloMergeTag.com or wherever you stream podcasts.
Links
Website | Bluesky | YouTube | TikTok | Instagram
Sam Weinberg (Kat’s campaign manager)’s Bluesky
Kat’s thread about prioritizing Bluesky
An article from The Nation where Kat talks about running the most accessible campaign in history.
Our interview with Congressman Mark Pocan about his public fued with AIPAC
I checked back in with Kat in October 2025. You can find that conversation here.
Big thanks to our sponsor Civic Shout. Learn more about the great work they’re doing to help Democratic campaigns and progressive nonprofits build their lists ethically at civicshout.com/partners.
