Lipinski may face primary foe
Tuesday, Mar 14, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Conservative Southwest Side Congressman Dan Lipinski may be getting a Democratic primary challenger. Here’s Greg Hinz…
The challenge comes from Marie Newman, a La Grange marketing consultant who tells me she has decided to form a 3rd District exploratory committee, the last formal step before actually announcing, something Newman says she is very likely to do this spring. […]
She’s also working with some more conventional, connected folks, including consultant Tom Bowen, whose clients have included Mayor Rahm Emanuel and U.S. Reps. Bill Foster and Mike Quigley; former Barack Obama and David Axelrod associate John Kupper; and Jill Normington, the pollster to U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. […]
“People need to have someone who represents their values,” says Newman, noting that Lipinski was the only Democratic congressman from Illinois to vote against the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare. “It’s clear they feel Mr. Lipinski is out of touch.”
Lipinski also has voted against family planning, women’s health care and reproductive rights, she says, “ignores” small business, and routinely accepts campaign donations from PACs and lobbyists. […]
Lipinski, in an interview, waved off the challenge, saying he’s focused on things such as “jobs for the middle class. That was the message of the past election.” While he did vote against Obamacare, he now wants to “fix, not repeal it.”
He has a very famous name, and that still counts for a lot in politics. He’s also been strongly backed by organized labor in the past, so that’ll help him as well.
But it goes without saying that his socially conservative voting record could work against him in a Democratic primary if Newman can raise real money and puts together a decent campaign. According to one analysis, he has the third most conservative record of any Democrat in Congress.
And while several Democratic blue-collar districts in the country went for Donald Trump last November, Hillary Clinton won Lipinksi’s district by 16 points. So the 3rd CD may not be as hardcore blue collar as some assume. Pat Quinn, however, won it by just a point in 2014.
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 2:55 pm:
The Lipinskis in Congress did such an effective job of saving the working class, they’ve lost their own constituency.
- dgd - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 3:14 pm:
And if I remember correctly, Bernie won that district in the primary.
- Because I said so.... - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 3:15 pm:
I never appreciated how the junior Lipinski was ushered into office. As a constituent, I would love to see him face a challenger.
- Regular democrat - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 3:24 pm:
A primary would give Lipinski an opportunity to explain his votes which will resonate with a faorly conservstive catholic base in his district
- Touré's Latte - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 3:26 pm:
His challenger will find out just how conservative his district is. The HRC vote is meaningless.
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 3:36 pm:
As other have said, this is a conservative corner of Cook County. Lipinski is likely to win unless a conservative challenger has a compelling message.
This is old school Reagan Democratic country.
- A guy - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 3:39 pm:
That is a conservative district. Even La Grange leans more conservative. Dan, like his pop, is an old shoe..very comfortable if not flashy. Follows the same game plan as his dad. Dependable in a time when that isn’t a given. The DNC has always been a little reluctant to exact punishment and discipline on the Lips. The new Dem party seems to be very close to large bodies of water. Dan isn’t close enough. Wins the primary big. Wins the general by a good margin. No matter what the heck else is going on elsewhere. Even the Republicans would work for him. And there’s plenty enough of them in that district to lend him a hand. A Pro Life Democrat, rare as it is, matters a lot there. If Marie runs on that one, she’ll lose big there.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 3:47 pm:
Maybe the Lip can figure out how to get the Dems to win downstate.
- Politix - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 3:52 pm:
There have been rumblings of discontent with Lipinsky post-election among women constituents. They call him a fake democrat. Women who no longer live in his district are threatening to fund his primary opponent, myself included. We can’t afford not to - he doesn’t seem to value women’s health.
- Amalia - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 3:55 pm:
the last one to challenge him with what was supposed to be a big deal? Mark Pera. Lifeless candidate. A candidate with a more lively personality, maybe. still a hard push. One thing that could work against her is say the Dems can do well in a change midterm, which is not so out there as a notion. Lipinski has seniority. that counts for assignments. and counts for Illinois.
- Precinct Captain - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 4:03 pm:
==- dgd - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 3:14 pm:==
==- Touré’s Latte - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 3:26 pm:==
According to Scott Kennedy’s #s further down in the link provided by Rich, Bernie won the 3rd 53-45.
- Distant Viewer - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 4:13 pm:
As a west suburbanite I can’t wait for this. Lipinski is not just a bad for progressive politics. He’s also poor at meeting with constituents. We need a better candidate.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 4:26 pm:
Geez, some of you are talking like Lip will just march down Archie Avenue with the Shannon Rovers and win by default in a Democratic primary.
Neighborhoods and suburbs change over time. The parts of Bridgeport that aren’t being absorbed into Chinatown are going yuppie.
And about 60% of that district is suburban. The fact that Clinton could win by 16 points and Quinn by one would challenge the old shoe conservative school of thought.
My guess is Lip will try to install at least one Hispanic and one Chinese surname as stalking horses on the primary ballot.
- pawn - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 4:36 pm:
I live in the district. Multiple meetings have been held with large numbers of people interested in supporting another candidate during the primary. People are woke and mad, and they see him as being useless against the Trump agenda, anti-woman, and a carpetbagger to boot. He has no personality and a voting record that is more conservative than some Republicans. I call him every week with the message: we will primary you.
- Rough Rider - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 5:35 pm:
He is an outstanding Representative.
She will get trounced.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 5:44 pm:
He is not anti-woman
To call pro-life people anti-woman is ignorant.
I left the Democratin party over their obsession with being for abortion and hostility to pro-lifers. However, I support Lipinski.
As for the carpetbagger charge, Hillary and Duckworth are more worthy of that charge but nobody mentions that.
By the way, I am not a Republican either.
- Chi - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 6:53 pm:
His opposition to the ACA, iirc, was from the left, i.e. he was siding with labor.
What is the precedent for someone beating a big name Democrat in a congressional primary from the left?
- Roscoe Tom - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 7:52 pm:
Check the city wards that are in his district and turn out the lights for any opponent.
- Tom S - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 7:54 pm:
If he’s ever gonna be beat in a primary, this is probably the year given the energy on the left. The bulk of Dem primary vote is in the 19th Ward and Worth Township, and to a lesser extent in Orland. An established Irish name from those areas (Hastings, Cunningham, Kelly Burke, Hurley, Mayor McLaughlin in Orland) could give Lipinski a real run for his money, but I don’t see any of them jumping in.
The conservative leanings of the district are overblown a bit. This is an old-school Dem/Labor establishment district. And that establishment is with Lipinski.
- TaxesBuyCivilization - Tuesday, Mar 14, 17 @ 11:50 pm:
===He is not anti-woman===
This is an easy mistake to make. His position is pro-life. It only becomes anti-women when legislation is created to achieve his policy position.
===hostility to pro-lifers===
Again, it’s an easy mistake to make. It’s not hostility to folks that are pro-life, it’s hostility to folks that only accept policy options that that are anti-women.
Plenty of ways to be pro-life without restricting abortion, and data shows those ways actually achieve the goal.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 15, 17 @ 7:26 am:
== This is an old-school Dem/Labor establishment district. And that establishment is with Lipinski. ==
True…and Lipinski spends as little time in Washington as possible, works the district pretty hard. But has there ever been a worst time to be part of the establishment?
- Oneman - Wednesday, Mar 15, 17 @ 8:18 am:
Speaking from personal experience… Never underestimate Tom
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Mar 15, 17 @ 8:48 am:
===Never underestimate Tom ===
At the risk of giving him an even bigger head, I’d agree. lol