Veteran North Shore Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston is once again backing challenger Marie Newman’s primary bid against eight-term Rep. Dan Lipinski in the Southwest Side and suburban 3rd Congressional District.
“I am proud to stand with Marie. Her election helps Democrats build a party that is willing to take bold steps to bring affordable health care, including prescription drugs, protect and expand Social Security and Medicare, and raise the wages of working Americans,” Schakowsky said Tuesday in a statement.
Schakowsky backed Newman’s previous challenge to Lipinski, a social conservative who in 2018 won re-nomination by only 2.2 percentage points, or 2,145 votes, out of 95,205 votes cast. Newman announced in April she’d seek a rematch, and other Democrats also have filed in the contest.
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
Newman said the backing of Schakowsky, an 11-term lawmaker and a member of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Democratic leadership team, demonstrated support for her candidacy from party progressives.
“Congresswoman Schakowsky has long led the fight for bold progressive action in Illinois, and I look forward to standing with her in Washington as we fight for policies that will truly improve everybody’s every day,” Newman said.
Newman’s candidacy also has been backed by freshman Illinois Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville, along with presidential contenders Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey.
Lipinski has previously said Newman’s endorsements from party progressives are not in line with voters in the congressional district.
Another challenger to Lipinski, Rush Darwish, called Schakowsky’s support for Newman a “recycled endorsement” that was “based on a personal relationship and not on good public policy.”
rap30@aol.com
