Marie Newman


Marie Newman is an American entrepreneur, marketing consultant, nonprofit executive and political candidate. Newman is the Democratic nominee for Illinois's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, following her victory against incumbent Dan Lipinski in the 2020 primary election. She had lost against Lipinski in the Democratic primary for the same seat in 2018.

Early life and career

Newman was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 13, 1964. She attended Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Illinois. After attending Marquette University for a year and a half, she transferred to University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree.
Newman worked for multiple firms as an agency executive. She began her own consulting firm in 2005. She also established her own nonprofit to combat bullying after one of her children was bullied. She was appointed to a regional anti-bullying task force by Governor Pat Quinn and was asked by Sears Holdings Corporation to establish a national anti-bullying coalition of 70 nonprofit organizations.
Newman has worked on several Democratic campaigns for public office. Between 2015 and 2017 she lobbied for gun control measures such as background checks.

U.S. House of Representatives elections

2018

Newman supported Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary in Illinois and Hillary Clinton in the November general election. The day after Clinton lost, she applied to the Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership. By January 1, 2017, Newman had closed her business to turn her attention to politics full-time.
On April 10, 2017, Newman declared her candidacy for the Illinois's 3rd congressional district, challenging Democratic incumbent Dan Lipinski, a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, who held the seat since 2005 following his father who held it for 22 years. Newman earned endorsements from the Human Rights Campaign, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Planned Parenthood, EMILY's List, the SEIU state council, National Nurses United, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the Feminist Majority Foundation, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Democracy for America, MoveOn, and Our Revolution, as well as several Democratic members of Congress, including Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Representatives Luis Gutiérrez and Jan Schakowsky, both Illinois Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Lipinski defeated Newman with 51.2% of the vote to her 48.8%.

2020

Newman ran against Lipinski again in the 2020 Democratic primary. She received endorsements from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and presidential candidates Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The race took on special significance for progressive women’s groups after other candidates they supported lost primary races earlier in March in Texas and the principal women candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination had ended their campaigns. On March 17, 2020, Newman defeated Lipinski in the Democratic primary with 46.55% of the vote to his 45.42%. Given the district's Democratic lean, she is expected to win the general election.

Political views

Newman supports abortion rights, gun control, a $15 minimum wage, a Green New Deal and Medicare for All. Her campaigns were supported by Justice Democrats, an organization that funds progressive candidates, in both 2018 and 2020.

Personal life

Newman lives in La Grange, Illinois, with her husband Jim and their two children. They married in 1996.