Outraged by DCCC rule, liberal group backs Rep. Dan Lipinski’s primary challenge

A liberal group rallied behind Rep. Dan Lipinski’s challenger in part out of protest against the DCCC’s attempt to undercut insurgent candidates in the 2020 primary election cycle.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s refusal to work with consultants that help out candidates running against incumbent House members is making it more difficult for Marie Newman to hire help.

“We proudly backed Marie Newman when she ran against Lipinksi in 2016, and the DCCC’s anti-primary blacklist policy and the impact its already having in her race made it even more important for us to get her back early in her 2020 campaign,” said Charles Chamberlin, executive director of Democracy for America.

Ms. Newman told Politico this week that vendors have passed on the chance to work with her because of the new DCCC rule, which was put into place in an effort to avoid messy primaries that could hurt the party’s chances of defending their House majority.

Ms. Newman lost to Mr. Lipinski by about 2,000 votes in a high-profile contest that drew the attention of liberal activists, who complain that the incumbent is out of touch with the base of the party — including on abortion.

“While the DCCC may be working overtime to shamefully protect one of the worst elected Democrats in Washington, we’re excited to back Marie Newman early in this race and we look forward to working with her to finally replace Dan Lipinski with a real progressive in Congress,” Mr. Chamberlin said.