‘Fifth Member of Squad’ Marie Newman Unseats Dan Lipinski in IL-03 Democrat Primary

Left-wing challenger Marie Newman defeated incumbent Democrat Rep. Dan Lipinski in the primary for Illinois’ third congressional district on Tuesday.

Newman, who fell short of unseating Lipinski in 2018, was backed by pro-choice and “progressive” forces eager to take down the moderate Lipinski, who compiled a pro-life, pro-Israel, and pro-market record over the last fifteen years representing the southwest side of Chicago and nearby suburbs.

In 2010, Lipinski was one of several dozen Democrats to oppose Obamacare, doing so against tremendous pressure from the leadership of his party.

The Associated Press called the race late Tuesday evening:

AP calls #IL03 Democratic primary race for Marie Newman defeating 8-term Rep. Dan Lipinski in election rematch. Lipinski defeated Newman by 2,145 votes in 2018. pic.twitter.com/dHBd0Zwnz9

— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) March 18, 2020

Newman’s allies were exultant, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who retweeted the New York Times‘ story about the result:

Rep. Dan Lipinski, a conservative Illinois Democrat, lost in a primary upset to Marie Newman, a progressive backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez https://t.co/JUAufoWMef

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 18, 2020

After Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Lipinski’s opponent last year, he had responded: “Ms. Newman is an extreme candidate who is completely out of step with the voters of Illinois’ Third District who do not want to be represented by a fifth member of the ‘Squad.'”

Evidently, however, they do — at least those motivated enough to vote.

The “Squad” refers to a group of left-wing first-term legislators loosely led by Ocasio-Cortez.

The election took place against the backdrop of the coronavirus outbreak, with city officials complaining that Gov. J. B. Pritzker should not have allowed the the primary to be held at all. Many election judges and poll workers refused to show up on Tuesday, and several polling stations were relocated.

Newman will face Republican Mike Fricilone in November.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He earned an A.B. in Social Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.