Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced on Tuesday that she will be endorsing Marie Newman, who will be running against incumbent Rep. Daniel Lipinski. Newman competed against Lipinski in 2018 and lost by about 2,000 votes to represent Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District.
Ocasio-Cortez is among other high-profile endorsements, including Democratic presidential primary candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, according to Politico. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has also endorsed Newman’s campaign.
Newman is also backed by Justice Democrats, a group that had a large role in Ocasio-Cortez’s win last year.
“We are so proud that Marie Newman is the first Justice Democrat of this cycle to receive an endorsement from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,” said Alexandra Rojas, the executive director of Justice Democrats. “The momentum is growing in our movement to make the Democratic Party fight for solutions as big as the problems we face and create a party that fights for its voters, not corporate donors.”
According to The New York Times, Ocasio-Cortez “came to Congress vowing to take down any Democrat she considered insufficiently progressive, but has, until now, refrained from taking on any of her fellow incumbents directly.”
Lipinski has served eight terms as a congressman who opposes abortion rights, voted against the Affordable Care Act and has repeatedly gone against party orthodoxy, losing him the support of other Democratic colleagues.
“The fact that a deep blue seat is advocating for many parts of the Republican agenda is extremely problematic. We’re not talking about a swing state that is being forced to take tough votes,” Ocasio-Cortez said about Lipinski.
Newman said that she is thrilled to receive the support of Ocasio-Cortez, according to NBC, calling her fights for social, climate and economic justice as an inspiration.