Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Celebrates Marie Newman’s Victory in Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Contact: [email protected]
Newman’s victory is a win for Illinoisans and reproductive freedom
Illinois — Today, voters in Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District elected NARAL-endorsed candidate Marie Newman to the U.S. House of Representatives. Her victory over anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican candidate Mike Fricilone marks a huge win for reproductive freedom and adds a champion for reproductive freedom to a critical seat in the House. The seat was previously held by anti-choice Representative Dan Lipinski (D-IL), who Newman ousted in a March 2020 primary with support from NARAL Pro-Choice America.
In response to Newman’s victory, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue released the following statement:
“Marie Newman’s victory is a signal of a new day and an affirmation that anti-choice advocates have no place in our politics. Marie is a bold supporter of reproductive freedom, just like her constituents and just like most Americans, and it’s wonderful to see Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District represented by someone who shares those values. NARAL Pro-Choice America is proud to have invested in Marie’s leadership, proud to have backed her in both elections she has run in and thrilled tonight to congratulate her on her victory tonight.”
NARAL endorsed Newman as part of its largest-ever electoral program, reaching over 3 million voters in key states—including Illinois—as part of its historic 2020 electoral program to win races up and down the ballot.
Newman’s victory is the culmination of years of work to unseat an entrenched incumbent and proves that voters across the country will not stand by as their elected officials throw women and families under the bus.
NARAL Pro-Choice America endorsed Newman’s bid to unseat Rep. Lipinski in May 2019 alongside a coalition of leading progressive organizations, including EMILY’s List, MoveOn, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), and Democracy for America (DFA). In February, NARAL joined SEIU, EMILY’s List’s independent expenditure arm WOMEN VOTE!, Indivisible, Planned Parenthood Votes, and Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) in launching a $1.4 million investment in an independent expenditure program in the district to expose Lipinski’s extreme and out-of-touch record, which includes co-sponsoring 54 measures restricting reproductive freedom, opposing the life-saving Affordable Care Act, and signing onto an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. The program included direct mail, television ad buys, and digital persuasion ads. After some polling locations changed in as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic precautionary measures, NARAL ran digital ads to help residents of IL-03 find where they should go to vote.
NARAL Pro-Choice America deployed an organizer for the final stretch of Newman’s primary campaign, who knocked on nearly 1,200 doors, engaged our members and volunteers across the country to make approximately 25,000 calls to voters in the district, and engaged over 2,300 NARAL members in the district through digital communications such as email and text.
NARAL was also among the first organizations to endorse Newman’s 2018 challenge against Lipinski, recognizing that Lipinski’s agenda was dangerously out-of-touch with both the Democratic Party and his constituents. After endorsing Newman in November 2017, NARAL ran its first TV ad in the race just days later. NARAL also launched a Super PAC in February 2018 with progressive allies to support Newman, spending more than $1.6 million on the race and helping Newman to come within striking distance when she won nearly 50% of the vote.
Read more about NARAL’s endorsed candidates here.
###
For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates and chapters have fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom—including access to abortion, contraception, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 7 in 10 Americans who believe every person should have the freedom to make the best decision for themselves about if, when, and how to raise a family.