OPINION: Column: Money spent on abortion ads likely spelled his defeat in election, Dan Lipinski says

Mar. 19--U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski conceded an election defeat on Wednesday, but he refused to concede his principles.

During a news conference at his storefront campaign headquarters in Oak Lawn, the eight-term congressman congratulated Marie Newman of La Grange for her victory in the 3rd District Democratic primary. Newman vastly outspent Lipinski on TV commercials in which she contrasted their views on abortion.

"The pressure in the Democratic Party on the life issue has never been as great as it is now," Lipinski told reporters. "I've always said I would never give up being pro-life and standing up for babies in the womb."

Lipinski, 53, of Western Springs, has held the seat since 2005 and is one of the last anti-abortion Democrats in Congress. He and his wife, Judy, are Catholics who believe life begins at conception, he said.

"Knowing this, I could never give up protecting the most vulnerable human beings in the world simply to win an election," Lipinski said.

Party officials and other Democrats shunned Lipinski because of his stance on the abortion issue, he said.

"To stand in solidarity with the vulnerable is to become vulnerable," he said.

Unofficial returns showed Newman leading Lipinski by 2,452 votes, or about 2.5 percentage points, with an unknown number of mail-in and other types of provisional ballots yet to be counted.

Lipinski said he would support Newman, who will face Republican Will County Board member Mike Fricilone of Homer Glen in the November general election. Fricilone prevailed over two other Republicans in Tuesday's primary.

I asked Lipinski to what extent concerns about coronavirus might have impacted the outcome of the contest and whether Tuesday's election should have proceeded. Turnout was low amid reports that some voters walked away from crowded polling places. Ohio and Georgia are among states that have postponed elections, and some have criticized Illinois officials for holding the election.

"I'm not going to second-guess holding the election," Lipinski replied. "I wasn't looking forward to doing the last three months over again. There's no right or wrong answer. I'm not sure what impact coronavirus had."

A representative of Newman's campaign did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment. On Wednesday, her Twitter account responded to congratulatory messages from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

"Earlier today, I spoke with Congressman Lipinski, who ran a tough race," Newman said in a statement issued late Wednesday. "I want to thank him for reaching out, and I'm hopeful we can work together in the coming months to fight for our community and to get things done for the 3rd Congressional District."

"Now, more than ever, we need to be unified and not divided," she said in the statement. "Let's all stand together in this fight for better healthcare, a more equitable economy and solutions that improve everybody's everyday."

Newman bested Lipinski in suburban Cook, Will and DuPage counties while Lipinski beat Newman by about 2,000 votes within the city of Chicago.

A majority of 3rd District Democratic voters chose the progressive challenger Newman over the conservative, establishment incumbent Lipinski yet also preferred moderate Joe Biden for president over Bernie Sanders, an analysis of precinct results showed.

In Homer Township Precinct 1, for example, voters preferred Newman 75 to 68 over Lipinski and Biden 78 to 71 over Sanders. Similarly, in Lockport Precinct 10, Newman prevailed 148-110 over Lipinski and voters picked Biden 149-129 over Sanders.

Perhaps Democratic voters preferred a representative who supports abortion rights but also wanted to unite behind the frontrunner to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in November.

"It seemed to me that the abortion question was front and center and that Democratic voters are likely to have been moved by the focus there," said Stephen Maynard Caliendo, political science professor and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at North Central College in Naperville.

"That's not a particularly progressive policy stance in the current landscape, as pro-life Democrats are fewer and farther between," Caliendo said Wednesday. "So I don't perceive an ideological contradiction for a Democratic voter to choose both Newman and Biden."

Rush Darwish, a Palestinian-American activist from Palos Hills, received about 6% of the vote while Charles Hughes of Chicago picked up 2% in the Democratic primary.

"I was honored by the outpouring of support I received from hundreds of first-time voters and people from disenfranchised communities engaged in the political process for the first time," Darwish said in a statement.

On the Republican side, Fricilone received 57.6% of the vote compared to 32% for Catherine O'Shea of Oak Lawn and 10% for Holocaust denier Arthur Jones of Lyons. Jones picked up just 1,617 votes compared to 2018, when he received more than 20,000 votes in the primary and about 57,000 votes in the general election.

Turnout was notably low, at 24.4% in Will County and 27.9% in suburban Cook, clerks offices reported. Democratic voters vastly outnumbered Republicans 78,763 to 30,670 in Will County.

Charles Pelkie, chief of staff for Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry, said early voting numbers were nearly doubled compared to the 2016 primary. Early voters in Will County cast 24,947 ballots this year compared to 12,881 in 2016.

"Early voting really started ramping up in the last couple weeks as concerns about coronavirus increased," Pelkie said Wednesday.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson received 84.8% of the vote over Democratic primary challenger Marcus Lewis in the 2nd Congressional District, unofficial results showed.

In the 1st District, longtime U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush cruised through a field of three primary challengers with 42% of the vote compared to 29.6% for Sarah Gad, 16.5% for Robert Emmons and 11.4% for Ameena Nuur Matthews.

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