FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2020
Contact: Kenny Palmer | press@indivisible.org
Washington, DC— Today Indivisible issued the following after Marie Newman defeated Dan Lipinski in the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District.
“Indivisible wants to give strong congratulations to Marie Newman. This is a big night for the progressive movement, scoring a win in one of the most important primaries of 2020. This race has big implications for what it means to be a Democrat in the Trump era.
“Voters in Illinois’ 3rd District have sent a clear message: there is no room in the Democratic Party for anti-immigrant, anti-choice and anti-healthcare conservatives. Marie has shown that bold, progressive solutions like health care for all, a Green New Deal, and a humane, people-first immigration platform are winning issues. This is the kind of vision we need from leaders in Congress,” said Leah Greenberg, Co-Executive Director of the Indivisible Project.
Since endorsing Marie Newman, Indivisible groups — in coalition with other grassroots organizations — have been working diligently to oust Lipinski. Local Indivisible groups were among the first to endorse Newman’s long-shot 2018 bid and have been knocking doors for her ever since. In concert with a broad coalition of partner organizations: Emily’s List, People’s Action, MoveOn, Planned Parenthood, 350 Action, SEIU, NARAL, the Sunrise Movement, DFA, Our Revolution, and many more, volunteers and organizers were crucial to Newman’s victory tonight.
“We know Marie will be committed to making the economy work for all, guaranteeing health care as a human right--including sexual and reproductive health--protecting and expanding immigrants’ rights, and much more once she’s in Congress,” said Darcey Regan, a member of Indivisible Chicago. “These positions aligned with our members’ values and the district’s needs. She will be a tireless advocate for worker’s rights, small businesses, pragmatic gun control, and green infrastructure solutions. She embodies the mission of our movement: to cultivate and elect leaders to realize bold, progressive ideals.”
Indivisible also put together a robust program supporting Newman’s campaign. For instance, Indivisible implemented a peer-to-peer texting program that sent over 125,000 texts to Latino voters by Election Day. The organization also bought digital ads that have made over 2.1 million impressions, ran a direct mail program that reached about 58,000 Latino voters and raised over $10,000 in grassroots, small-dollar donations for the Newman campaign. This week, with canvassing off the table, Indivisible groups in the area were continuing to make calls. They also uploaded videos to Soapboxx, a video campaign tool.
“Marie took on the Chicago political machine, conservative special interests, and the DCCC’s blacklist of primary challengers, and won. Democratic incumbents are facing progressive challengers across the country, and we expect Newman’s victory will boost these insurgent campaigns and make clear the power of the grassroots,” said Ezra Levin, Co-Executive Director of Indivisible.
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ABOUT INDIVISIBLE ACTION
Indivisible Action is a Hybrid Political Action Committee fueled by the grassroots movement to win elections and build local, independent progressive power nationwide. Indivisible Action provides Indivisible groups access to voter contact software, along with a suite of canvassing, phonebanking, and texting tools in support of progressive candidates. Indivisible Action also makes endorsements of federal and gubernatorial candidates nominated by their local Indivisible groups, vetted by our political team, and voted on by our supporters in the states and districts the candidate wishes to represent.