The Story:
Daniel Lipinski (D-Il), Congressman for the 3d Congressional District, Illinois, faced but in the end defeated a vigorous primary challenge. The challenger, businesswoman Marie Newman, conceded the contest Wednesday morning, March 21, a full 12 hours after the polls had closed.
The Significance:
Lipinski is an outspoken opponent of abortion rights, and an array of groups on the liberal side of that issue (Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, EMILY’s List, the Human Rights Campaign, and MoveOn.org) supported Newman’s challenge for precisely that reason.
Lipinski’s victory in the primary represents, almost certainly, his re-election. The district is very heavily Democratic and the Republican name on the ballot in November will be that of a neo-Nazi whom the leadership has denounced but who ran unopposed in that party’s primary.
The Thing to Know:
Lipinski painted the significance of the primary in broad national terms: he said that the Democratic Party has to be a broad coalition in order to defeat President Trump and Trump’s base, and that a properly broad coalition will have to include people who believe as he does on abortion.
