A Democratic congressional hopeful and progressive favorite has apologized for sleeping through a 7:00 p.m. campaign event, claiming that she suffers from narcolepsy and that the “disability” left her unable to attend.
Kat Abughazaleh, who is running for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District in 2026, was slated to appear at the event for the prominent progressive group Indivisible on Tuesday in the Chicago neighborhood of Edgewater.
The Media Matters for America alumna is one of many in a cattle-car primary to replace retiring Democrat Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who was first elected to the safely Democratic seat in 1998. However, she’s managed to set herself apart not just with a good social media game, but also prominent coverage in far-left publications.
An Intercept piece from December talked glowingly about her, with the title “Kat Abughazaleh Thinks Campaign Funds Should Help Feed People.” The Advocate, on the same day she was scheduled to make her appearance at the Indivisible event, ran a positive profile on her titled “How Democratic candidate and influencer Kat Abughazaleh is taking on America’s rising far right.”
But she didn’t show.
In an apology, she thanked members of Indivisible Edgewater “for all their work in our community to stand up and fight back against this regime.”
“Earlier this evening, I was scheduled to attend a Forum with members. And then I didn’t show up,” she said.
“I want to offer my sincerest apologies as well as an explanation. I have a chronic illness called narcolepsy. It makes me extremely tired and occasionally causes ‘sleep attacks,’ times when my brain literally cannot stay awake,” the statement continued.
“My condition is usually well-managed but — like with any disability — has flare-ups and today was one of those. I ended up sleeping through alarms, calls, and even my campaign manager knocking on my door repeatedly.”
Abughazaleh insisted it was “not an excuse,” but instead an opportunity “to be transparent and also stress that I would love to talk with those of you with questions.”
“We are trying to set up a time for another forum,” she added. “Once again, I am so sorry and — to be honest — very embarrassed.”
Some on social media were satisfied with Abughazaleh’s response: “tbh i think this level of authenticity is very valuable. Simultaneous honesty of one’s circumstance and recognition of the impacts it still has on others. Im not in Kat’s district, but as a disabled person, this reinforces why I support her,” one commenter said.
However, Matthew Eadie of Evanston Now, who is covering the race, noted that she had been in Los Angeles the day prior for a livestream with controversial far-left Twitch personality Hasan Piker and has faced criticism during her campaign for what supporters see as an unrealistic overbooking of events.
Eadie added that she had been scheduled for a livestream regarding events in Venezuela on the same night as the Edgewater event, which she also did not show up for.
Kat also missed this live-streamed candidate forum on Venezuela last night after being slated to attend
She was in LA yesterday on stream with Hasan Piker (around 6pm CST)
I asked the campaign a few times if she was in LA for any other reason, and I haven’t gotten a response pic.twitter.com/3UCqjkgsFA
— Matthew Eadie (@mattheweadie22) January 21, 2026
— Matthew Eadie (@mattheweadie22) January 21, 2026
“I asked the campaign a few times if she was in LA for any other reason, and I haven’t gotten a response,” Eadie added.
Abughazaleh, who has left X and mostly posts to Instagram and Bluesky, has also been otherwise silent about the missed events except for the announcement.
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