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Sign this PetitionLeading Progressive Groups Endorse Marie Newman for Congress
Rare Joint Endorsement Announced By NARAL, MoveOn.org, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Democracy For America, Human Rights Campaign
Some of the nation’s leading progressive organizations joined forces today to endorse Marie Newman in her bid to unseat an incumbent Democratic congressman with an anti-choice, anti-LGBT history, Rep. Dan Lipinski (IL-03). The groups, including NARAL Pro-Choice America, MoveOn.org, Democracy for America (DFA), the Progressive Campaign Change Committee (PCCC), and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) will gather for an endorsement event on Wednesday in Chicago.
The endorsement comes on the heels of progressive electoral victories all over the country, signaling that progressive values, including access to reproductive healthcare and abortion, are winning issues among voters across the nation. Newman received the backing of these leading progressive groups for her commitment to fostering equality and protecting the basic rights of all Americans, including our reproductive freedom.
Illinois’ 3rd district is currently represented by Dan Lipinski, a Democrat who has consistently voted to pass anti-choice, anti-LGBT, and anti-immigrant policies since he was elected in 2005. Despite Lipinski’s fringe record, the district is solidly blue, with Hillary Clinton winning by 15 points in the 2016 election and Bernie Sanders winning the district by 8 points in the Democratic primary.
“I am honored to receive each of these endorsements and I am proud of how we, at both the local and national level, are coming together to work for a better, more inclusive, fairer system of government that supports the rights and opportunities of all people,” said Marie Newman, candidate for Illinois’ Third District Congressional race. “When we join forces to work towards electing candidates who represent all of our needs, we get the kind of vote in Washington that we deserve, one that represents all of us.”
“Time is up for Congressman Lipinski. For too long, Dan Lipinski has ignored the needs of working families across Illinois, by pushing his fringe ideological agenda at the expense of women and families across the state,” said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “Congressman Lipinski is way out of step with his constituents and with Democratic party principles when it comes to women’s rights, LGBT equality, and the basic freedoms that Americans hold dear. In contrast, Marie Newman holds equality and self-determination as non-negotiable and will fight for all of our rights, including our reproductive freedom. NARAL members are proud to stand with Marie Newman as she fights to give Illinois families a voice in Congress.”
“Dan Lipinski is one of the worst Democrats in Congress. He voted against the Affordable Care Act, has consistently opposed a woman’s right to choose, and has sided with Donald Trump in support of his horrific anti-immigrant agenda,” said Matt Blizek, elections mobilization director for MoveOn.org Political Action. “For Democrats to win back the House in 2018, they need to do so with candidates who act like Democrats not Donald Trump Republicans. That’s why Marie Newman earned more than 90% of the votes cast among the 11,000 MoveOn members in Illinois’ 3rd congressional district. We’re proud to support Marie Newman, who will be a progressive voice to represent the values of Illinois’ 3rd District voters in Congress.”
“Democracy for America members are supporting Marie Newman in her race for Congress because Illinois voters deserve a Democratic congressional delegation that is as unflinchingly committed to fighting for abortion rights and LGBT equality as they are to standing up to any other racial and economic injustice,” said Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America. “Congressman Dan Lipinski’s backward, right-wing ideology is profoundly out of step with a twenty-first century Democratic Party and we can’t wait to see him replaced by Marie Newman in the U.S. House.”
“Dan Lipinski may have a D next to his name—but he isn’t a Democrat, and his record proves it. Dan Lipinski opposed the Affordable Care Act, voted with Republicans to gut Wall Street regulations, and voted against student debt relief. In addition to voting with big corporations against working families, he’s consistently undermined the rights of women, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community,” said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “Marie Newman is on the side of working people, and will be a champion for issues they talk about across the kitchen table.That’s why we’re proud to endorse Marie Newman in the primary against Dan Lipinski. The people of Illinois deserve a real Democrat and progressive leader who will side with them—not with Wall Street.”
“The people of greater Chicago deserve a leader who will stand up for every resident and serve as a champion for equality. Marie Newman is that leader, and we are proud to endorse her in this race,” said JoDee Winterhof, Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs at the Human Rights Campaign. “It’s time for new leadership and someone who will fight for full LGBTQ equality in Congress—it’s time for Marie Newman.”