Illinois voters go to the polls for the state’s primaries on March 20, and one key House primary is of national interest. Conservative Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski faces a serious challenge from Marie Newman, who has gathered endorsements from Daily Kos, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Human Rights Campaign, EMILY’s List, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and some Illinois unions. The traditional media tends to frame this race around abortion—Lipinski is opposed—but the reality is much bigger. Lipinski opposed a $15 minimum wage until he lost a key union endorsement as a result. He opposed the Affordable Care Act. He refused to endorse President Barack Obama for re-election in 2012. And those last two points fed into a significant public rebuke from top former Obama staffers last week.
A super PAC backed by the mushy post-partisan group No Labels sent out a mailer using Obama’s image to attack Newman, but it drew blowback:
Again—message to the traditional media, here—it’s not just about abortion.
It’s extremely rare for congressional Democrats to oppose one of their own, let alone one of their own from their home state, but Lipinski has managed it, with Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Luis Gutierrez coming out against him. Still, he’s an incumbent who inherited his father’s seat. It will be hard to beat him—which is why it’s important to keep working to the last moment.
Sign up to get out the vote for Marie Newman.