The political arm of the national Democratic party has thus far decided to take a pass on endorsing conservative Democrat Dan Lipinski's reelection bid in Illinois' 3rd congressional district. The party is clearly thinking twice about investing resources in a candidate who has both declined to pay party dues and continually parted ways with views held dear by large swaths of the progressive base. Politico writes:
Dan Lipinski is the kind of candidate Democrats need more of for the party to win the House in November. But the national Democratic Party is refusing to endorse him.
Hmm, really, Politico? Hillary Clinton won IL-03 by 15 points—55-40 percent—and Lipinski has a viable Democratic challenger, Marie Newman, who actually espouses progressive values more in line with both the district and the party.
The seven-term congressman from Chicago, who opposes abortion and voted against Obamacare, marriage equality and immigration reform, is one of the most conservative members of the House Democratic Caucus.
Lipinski is exactly the kind of lawmaker who could weigh down the Democratic caucus if Democrats manage to regain control of the House this November.
Caught in the middle are House Democratic leaders, who govern a caucus more aligned with Lipinski’s opponent, Marie Newman. But they are wary of appearing to kick one of their incumbents to the curb, aware of the potential long-term implications for a party that is struggling to regain its standing with blue-collar voters.
Districts do exist that require a candidate with more conservative positioning in order for Democrats to even have a chance of being competitive. IL-03 isn't necessarily one of them. The DCCC is doing exactly what it too often has not done in the past—wait out the primary so Democratic voters can decide who they want to represent them in the general election. The default position of the DCCC is usually to back the incumbent no matter what, but let's hope the Democratic leadership continues to stay out of this race until the primary runs it course.
If you want to help progressive values prevail in IL-03’s March 20 primary, please give $3 to Daily Kos-endorsed candidate Marie Newman.