American rock band The Strokes, best known for the hit “Last Night,” will headline a March fundraiser for activist Kina Collins, who is running for Rep. Danny K. Davis’ seat in the Congressional 7th District race.
The fundraiser is set just ahead of the highly competitive March 19 primary. Davis, the incumbent, is running against Collins, Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, educator Nikhil Bhatia and former Obama campaign staffer Kouri Marshall.
This is her third straight challenge to Davis, who has held the seat since 1997. In the 2020 primary, Collins picked up only about 14% of the vote. But in the 2022 rematch, she garnered nearly 46% of the vote in a direct threat to Davis.
“In the last election cycle our grassroots, people-powered campaign punched well above our weight class and came very close to beating a 25-year incumbent and we didn’t take a dime of corporate money to do it,” Collins said in a statement. “The Strokes played a huge role in helping us to activate voters in the Illinois 7th. I really can’t wait to rally our supporters together again, register some new voters and finish what we started.”
According to reports, Collins, a gun violence prevention advocate, first met lead singer Julian Casablancas at a house party, and the band, she said, later played a role in motivating voters to head to the ballot box.
“It is our great honor to help support progressive, caring human beings who are not captured by corporate power,” Casablancas said in a statement. “Though she is running for a Democratic district for Congress, we essentially consider her Independent. But above all, we believe Kina will do a wonderful job representing Chicagoans of all classes, creeds, color and background to build a stronger, more united, and more just world when she gets to Washington D.C.”
According to her campaign, she has picked up endorsements from Ald. Daniel La Spata of the 1st Ward and Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez of the 25th Ward, as well as from Oak Park trustees Susan Buchanan, Brian Straw, Lucia Robinson, and Ravi Parakkat, and River Forest trustees Katie Brennan and Erika Bacher.
Collins grew up as the child of two union workers and said her “journey” began after an encounter with a murder near her home. That led her to become a gun violence prevention activist, she said.
Tickets are on sale now for the concert and fundraiser. Indie band Beach Bunny and musician Nnamdi also will perform. Tickets can be found at: https://thestrokes.shop.ticketstoday.com/eventlist.aspx?eventId=201113