On Tuesday night, Democratic primary candidate Marie Newman beat out longtime incumbent Democrat Rep. Dan Lipinski for a chance at becoming the next Congressional representative from Illinois’ 3rd district.
Lipinski is well known as one of the Democratic party’s anti-abortion members. He opposed two landmark pieces of progressive legislation in recent years: the Affordable Care Act and the 2010 Dream Act. He also refused to endorse Barack Obama in his 2012 re-election race. Lipinski defeated Newman when she ran in 2018, but she decided almost immediately to run again in 2020. She defeated him on Tuesday night with 47 percent of the votes tallied. She ran on feminist issues like reproductive rights, immigration, healthcare, and gun control.
“For many years, Dan was one of the most conservative members of the Democratic Party bar none — if not the most,” said Newman in an interview with The New York Times. “Our district is a deeply blue Democratic district, so I ran on the platform that I’m a real Democrat with a real plan. And it’s kind of that simple. I believe in working families, health care for all, and making sure that we have a livable wage.”
Newman has a background as a marketing and advertising executive and ran her own consulting firm, but created a national nonprofit with an anti-bullying mission in partnership with Sears. She also served as the state spokesperson for the gun control group Moms Demand Action.
Newman has been endorsed by women’s rights and other organizations such as Feminist Majority, EMILY’s List, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Indivisible, SEIU, and the Illinois Federation of Teachers.
Sources: NYT 3/18/20; Politico 3/18/20; CNN 3/19/20
