Chicago's first gay mayor: 'If it were up to Dan Lipinski, I wouldn’t be able to marry my wife.'

Daily Kos Staff

Monday February 10, 2020 · 1:45 PM PST

2020/02/10 · 13:45

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - APRIL 02: Chicago mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot greets commuters at an L station in Logan Square on April 02, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Voters in Chicago go to the polls today to select a new mayor in a runoff election. Lightfoot is running against Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Saturday that she was endorsing businesswoman Marie Newman’s campaign to defeat conservative Rep. Dan Lipinski in the March 17 Democratic primary. About one-third of Illinois' 3rd District is in the city of Chicago, while the balance is located in the nearby suburbs.

Lightfoot, who is the city’s first gay mayor, declared, “Lipinski voted against Obamacare, mocks efforts to combat climate change, and is actually still opposed to marriage equality. That’s right, if it were up to Dan Lipinski, I wouldn’t be able to marry my wife.” Lightfoot also said that with the incumbent’s record “it’s no wonder some refer to Lipinski as ‘Trump’s favorite Democrat.”

Lipinski beat Newman 51-49 in 2018, but he doesn’t enjoy anything like the financial advantage he had two years ago. Lipinski held an $868,000 to $628,000 cash-on-hand lead at the end of 2019, which is considerably smaller than his $1.6 million to $237,000 edge at the close of 2017.

Unlike last cycle, though, there’s another well-funded candidate who could take anti-Lipinski votes from Newman. Activist Rush Darwish had $371,000 to spend in late December, and he’s been airing TV ads to get his name out. It only takes a plurality of the vote to win a primary in Illinois.

It's time to fire Dan Lipinski. Please chip in $3 to help Marie Newman today!

Chicago's first gay mayor: 'If it were up to Dan Lipinski, I wouldn’t be able to marry my wife.'

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