Illinois primary pits rare 'pro-life' Democrat against progressive wing

On a cold Friday morning in early March, the biggest fossil in Chicago was not the Tyrannosaurus Rex perched in the Field Museum downtown. It was standing, wearing a parka, outside a suburban train station.

Dan Lipinski is a seven-term congressman who is one of last “Blue Dog” Democrats – moderates with voting records that might even be called conservative. Even in such ranks, Lipinski stands out. For one thing, as a practicing Catholic he is not just ardently opposed to abortion rights: he has spoken at the March for Life. For another, he does not represent a conservative district where such views might be advantageous. Lipinski represents Illinois’s third district, which Hillary Clinton won by 15 points.

As a result, Lipinski is facing a tough fight in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, when voters will elect their candidates for the 2018 midterms. Congressional colleagues have joined liberal special interest groups in ranging themselves against him. Furthermore, lone Republican candidate Arthur Jones is a neo-Nazi and Holocaust denier who has been denounced by his own party. The Democrat will be virtually certain to win the seat in November.

The third Illinois district is jagged and gerrymandered, 30% Hispanic and covering much of Chicago’s south-western suburbs as well as a thin slice of the city. It includes the traditionally Irish stronghold of Bridgeport and the bungalows by Midway airport where Hispanic voters live on streets named for Polish heroes. There are leafy and prosperous suburbs and sprawling exurbs too. It also contains the base of Mike Madigan, the speaker of the Illinois house who is considered one of the last political bosses in the entire US and is a key Lipinski ally.

Lipinski has represented the third district since 2004. The son of an 11-term congressman, he became the Democratic nominee when his father announced his retirement after winning the nomination again. The younger Lipinski was selected by the state party and won the seat with ease.

He has never before seriously challenged, despite repeatedly breaking from party orthodoxy. He voted against the Affordable Care Act and has been opposed to same-sex marriage and immigration reform, although in recent years he has followed the political tides. In 2012, he refused to endorse Barack Obama.

His opponent, Marie Newman, is a 53-year-old former advertising executive supported by liberal groups including Naral Pro-Choice America and the Human Rights Campaign. Two sitting Democrats from the Chicago area are also backing her along with national political figures like Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders.

In an interview, Newman said that Lipinski was “to the right of most Republicans. He’s so Republican, anybody that’s a Democrat looks left.”

Discussing her opponent with barely disguised disdain, she said he was “out of alignment with the district”. In contrast, she insisted, “The district and I are in alignment on every single issue.”

Newman is running on standard-issue progressive policies, supporting Medicare for All and a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Backed heavily by abortion rights groups, she insists government should not implement any restriction on abortion from conception up to the point of birth. In her view, in sticking to his scruples on the issue, Lipiniski is betraying his voters.

“When you are a member of Congress you have to vote the way your district wants you to vote,” she said.

‘The Tea Party of the left’

In return, Lipinski said his opponent was part of “the Tea Party of the left … an extreme part of a party that says, ‘It is our way or no way’”. There should not “be any litmus test for the Democratic party”, he added, insisting on the need to represent “the 25% to 30% of Democrats across the country who are pro-life”.

Lipinski is focused on delivering federal money and projects. “This is Chicago,” he said “… people look at politics as a way of getting things done and look at politicians – they go to them for help.”

Speaking to reporters in a heated rail station shelter, he expounded at length about how he inserted a provision in a bill that kept the Army Corps of Engineers from dumping dredge material in a nearby pit, a project opposed by the local community. He also talked of his efforts to ensure that a local forklift company was treated fairly in its bid for a Pentagon contract.

“Nationally people aren’t talking about those things ,” he said. “But those are things people really care about and [that] make a difference in people’s lives.”

He did acknowledge that ideology was a factor in his primary. But, he said, “I think I rarely have that dissonance between what I think is the right thing to do and what my constituents to feel, so I’m fortunate to be in that situation.”

He said he was still in touch with the portion of his district that was “facing the struggles of middle class and … looking to someone to be their champion”. In contrast, “a portion of the district that is a little more well off [has] a different mindset and different view of what people find important.” These voters, Lipinski said, were the ones focused on social issues.

His job, he said, was “to do what I think is best for my constituents and the country”.

Lipinski has been endorsed by local elected officials and big unions. Some unions, SEIU and the Illinois Federation of Teachers among them, have broken ranks and endorsed Newman.

“There are some Democrats out there not supporting him,” said Bill Looby, the political director of the Illinois AFL-CIO. “I think that’s probably more of a reflection of some social issues that they hold particularly important but with a diverse labor movement we typically don’t delve into social issue spectrum.”