DCCC chair Bustos pulls out of fundraiser for anti-abortion rights Democrat

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) has pulled out of a fundraiser for Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), citing his opposition to abortion rights.

“[Lipinski] asked me to attend a fundraiser for him several months ago and I agreed to do so, but I’ve determined that I must cancel my participation in this event,” Bustos said in a statement. “I’m proud to have a 100 percent pro-choice voting record and I’m deeply alarmed by the rapidly escalating attacks on women’s access to reproductive care in several states.”

An update from Congresswoman Cheri Bustos: pic.twitter.com/iLHEbUfJDA

— Jared Smith (@JaredSmithJS) May 22, 2019

Bustos’s involvement in the fundraiser was first reported last week and quickly drew fire from abortion rights advocates. Progressives criticized Bustos for her plans to host the fundraiser, specifically citing Lipinski’s abortion record.

{mosads}Lipinski has long drawn the ire of his party’s more progressive wing over to his opposition to abortion and stance on LGBTQ issues.

“Every reporter should ask Bustos why she’s raising money for an anti-choice Congressman and blacklisting any vendor who works with his pro-choice progressive opponent,” Sean McElwee, co-founder of the progressive think tank Data for Progress, tweeted.

The liberal wing of the Democratic Party has also expressed frustration over a DCCC policy that forbids awarding contracts to firms that support primary challengers running against incumbent Democrats. Critics have said the policy benefits candidates like Lipinski. 

A centrist Democrat facing a liberal primary challenge, Lipinski won his 2018 primary over progressive challenger Marie Newman by only two points. Newman has already announced her intention to mount another primary challenge to Lipinski in 2020.

“We deserve a representative who will vote like a real Democrat in Congress—not someone who routinely sides with Trump and conservative interest groups over his own constituents,” she said last month.