AOC backs campaign to unseat pro-life House Democrat Dan Lipinski

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) endorsed the primary challenger's campaign to get rid of one of the few remaining pro-life Democrats in Congress on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the New York congresswoman and far-left lightning rod announced her support for Marie Newman's latest effort to unseat Rep. Dan Lipinski in Illinois in a tweet calling the progressive primary challenger "a grassroots fighter for working families."

News of the endorsement was first rolled out by Justice Democrats — the far left group who endorsed Ocasio-Cortez as well as Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass) in 2018.

"Marie Newman is a textbook example of one of the ways that we could be better as a party — to come from a deep blue seat and to be championing all the issues we need to be championing," Ocasio-Cortez previously said in an interview. "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."

Dan Lipinski is a 55-year-old eight-term congressman from a Chicago-area district who has a notable history of breaking with the rest of his party in how he votes, especially when it comes to the issue of abortion. Lipinski was one of the three Democrats to vote in favor of a the "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act" last Congress and is one of only three signed on to the current discharge petition for House Republicans' anti-infanticide bill. He has also spoken at the March for Life.

Lipinski responded to the news of the endorsement with a scathing statement calling it evidence of Newman's far-left positions.

"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement of Marie Newman makes crystal clear that Ms. Newman is an extreme candidate who is completely out of step with the voters of Illinois' Third District who do not want to be represented by a fifth member of the 'Squad,'" the Lipinski statement said. "The Democratic Party — and our country — cannot afford an obstructionist 'Tea Party of the Left' when we need to focus on winning this next election and passing policies that will truly help working families and all who are struggling in America today."

This is the second time Newman has mounted a primary bid for the seat. Lipinski beat her 2018 effort by just over 2,000 votes last March, despite the Democratic National Committee's refusal to endorse him in that race.

However, Lipinski still has the support of House Democrats' campaign arm — the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — due to the committee's dedication to Democratic incumbents.