Lipinski, Newman face off in a rematch pitting Democrats’ conservative and progressive wings

U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski is facing a Democratic primary election rematch Tuesday night against progressive Marie Newman.

The two campaigns settled in to watch results in the 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of the Southwest Side, southwest suburban Cook County and northeastern Will County.

The widely watched race was a repeat of 2018 when Lipinski had narrowly defeated Newman by 2.2%, or by 2,145 votes out of 95,205 cast.

This time, the two candidates were joined by businessman Rush Darwish and Charles Hughes, a former Lipinski precinct captain.

The coronavirus pandemic disrupted campaigning in the final days. Lipinski’s spokesman, Phil Davidson, said Monday that the congressman felt good about early voting returns but said the campaign lost a chance for a final push when Sunday’s Southside Irish Parade was canceled.

“Irish Catholics? The 19th Ward? That’s our base,” Davidson said. “The opportunity just vaporized.”

Indeed, it was the Southwest Side wards that helped carry Lipinski to his narrow victory over Newman in 2018. Lipinski won his eighth term, succeeding his father, Bill, who held the seat for more than three decades starting in 1983.

Whichever Democrat emerges will be heavily favored to win the November general election.

On the Republican side of the 3rd District, the Illinois GOP was trying to prevent Nazi sympathizer and Holocaust denier Arthur Jones from winning. The party was embarrassed when it left Jones unopposed in the 2018 primary. Jones went on to be trounced by Lipinski.

This time, party officials backed Michael Fricilone, the leader of Republican minority on the Will County Board who campaigned as a fiscally conservative candidate opposed to abortion rights.

One of the most closely watched and wide-open Republican races featured a crowded field of seven candidates in the 14th Congressional District.

State Sen. Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove, who has unsuccessfully run for governor and U.S. Senate, took on state Sen. Sue Rezin of Morris and five lesser-known candidates. The winner will face freshman Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood in the Republican- leaning district that covers the far west and northwest suburbs.

Another contested Republican race pitted former state Rep. Jeanne Ives of Wheaton against Gordon Kinzler in the west suburban 6th Congressional District.

Ives nearly upset Gov. Bruce Rauner in the 2018 GOP primary for governor. The winner takes on first-term Democratic Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove in November.

Elsewhere, two longtime Democratic Chicago congressmen were trying to fend off challengers.

Rep. Bobby Rush, 73, has been the 1st District congressman since 1993. He was challenged by Sarah Gad, a University of Chicago law student; Robert Emmons, a former consultant to nonprofit groups; and Ameena Matthews, an anti-violence activist.

Rep. Danny Davis, 78, has been the 7th District congressman since 1997. He faced Anthony Clark, a public school teacher who ran against Davis two years ago; Kina Collins, whose work organizing medical professionals led to her seeking office; and lawyer Kristine Schanbacher.

But it was the Lipinski-Newman re-match that was the marquee congressional race of the night in Illinois.

As the Democratic Party has searched for its identity in the age of the Trump presidency, the Lipinski-Newman battle drew national attention, in part because it pitted the party’s social conservatives against its progressives.

Newman received the backing of presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Lipinski enjoyed the support of numerous local officials, including more than two dozen suburban mayors, and the muscle of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s political organization.

Madigan was a central point of contention during the campaign as Newman and Lipinski disagreed widely over the powerful speaker.

The Lipinskis are key players in Madigan’s political operation, and Madigan’s 13th Ward is part of the congressional district.

Lipinski and Newman disagreed over whether it was time for Madigan to step down as state party chairman. Newman said Madigan -- whose political and governmental operation has been connected to ongoing federal corruption investigations -- should leave that post, while Lipinski said it was up to party members to make the decision.

Newman was blunt, saying “I think it’s time for him to go.”

At candidate forums, Lipinski portrayed Newman as extreme and out of touch with residents on issues of health care and abortion rights. At the same time, Lipinski downplayed that he had signed a letter that contained the signatures of conservative Republicans that called on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case that could lead to a reversal of a woman’s right to an abortion.

Lipinski, of Western Springs, said his opposition to abortion had little practical effect.

“I'm in the U.S. House of Representatives. I'm not on the Supreme Court, so I don't have any impact whatsoever on Roe v. Wade,” he said during the campaign.

Lipinski said the letter in support of the nation’s highest court taking involved a Louisiana law that requires abortion clinics to have the same equipment as ambulatory treatment centers to cater to a baby born alive during an attempted abortion.

"If a baby is born during an attempted abortion, that baby needs to be given the same care as any baby born of that term needs to be given. I support that," he said. “Groups that have supported Marie Newman do not support that. That is a radical position."

Lipinski also was against a 2017 Illinois law approved by then-Gov. Rauner that provides taxpayer-funded abortions for poor women.

Newman, who is from LaGrange, told voters that Lipinski’s position on abortion was out of touch with the views of the district’s residents.

Newman and Lipinski also differed on health care.

Lipinski, who voted against the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare, said he has since worked to make the law better and said any changes must continue to pay for individuals’ preexisting medical conditions.

For her part, Newman supported Medicare for All, which would be phased in over an undetermined period and allow for people who have private insurance to keep it if they want.

In the 14th District, Republicans were picking a challenger to take on Underwood. Two years ago, riding mid-term backlash against President Donald Trump, she shocked incumbent Republican Randy Hultgren to win the seat.

The district runs through seven traditionally conservative counties on the western edge of the Chicago area, from the Wisconsin border almost to Joliet, covering suburbs along the Fox River and outlying rural areas.

Oberweis, of Oberweis Dairy fame, had perhaps the greatest name recognition, and argued that he had the best chance to defeat Underwood. An outside group called the Illinois Conservatives spent $910,000 against Oberweis, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

His campaign mailings also accused Rezin, the other office holder in the race of being a "carpetbagger" for living outside the district in Morris. For her part, Rezin noted that Oberweis had run for office and lost repeatedly, making him “unelectable.”

Newcomers included Ted Gradel, who described himself as a businessman and a political outsider, was perhaps best known for his television ads showing him attempting field goals as a former kicker for the University of Notre Dame, and promising to “kick tails” in Congress.

Catalina Lauf, a 26-year-old first-time candidate, daughter of a Guatemalan immigrant, and strong Trump supporter, was at times referred to as the Republican Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or AOC.

Army veteran and former priest Anthony Catella, music school owner Jerry Evans, and software consultant James Marter also sought the nomination. The candidates shared support for repealing the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, enforcing immigration laws, and protecting gun owner rights.

Chicago Tribune’s Patrick O’Connell contributed.

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