Melissa Bean, a centrist Democrat and former three-term congresswoman, on Tuesday won the Democratic House primary for a Chicago-area seat, according to The Associated Press, prevailing in a race that became a test of views on Israel.
In the final days of the campaign, Ms. Bean received a rush of financial support from a group tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the hard-line pro-Israel lobbying organization, as she fended off a progressive rival, the tech entrepreneur Junaid Ahmed.
Ms. Bean campaigned on a promise to offer a check on President Trump and to help revive a more functional version of Congress. The race drew attention from national figures and interest groups.
She declined to take a firm position on whether U.S. military aid to Israel should be unconditional, but said, “I support peace — I support supporting our allies.” Mr. Ahmed called for an end to support for Israel, accusing it of carrying out a genocide in Gaza.
Ms. Bean, a businesswoman and former member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of moderate Democrats, argued that voters in the district were more concerned about overreaches by Mr. Trump, an affordability crunch and a “do-nothing Republican Congress” than they were about the candidates’ positions on Israel.
“The reason that this race is certainly the most important election in my lifetime,” Ms. Bean said in a recent interview, “is because you have a Congress that’s not doing their job.”
Ms. Bean will be a heavy favorite in the general election to replace Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, who decided to give up the seat to run for the Senate. If successful, she would represent the Eighth District, which leans strongly Democratic. It includes a tiny piece of Chicago near O’Hare International Airport and stretches across northwest Chicago suburbs such as Schaumburg and Arlington Heights.
Ms. Bean represented the district from 2005 to 2011. She was defeated in 2010 by Joe Walsh, a Republican who rode a Tea Party wave to a narrow victory. (Mr. Walsh served a single term and later became a Democrat.)
The Chicago suburbs have been drifting toward Democrats, analysts say, as residents recoil from Mr. Trump. And the shape of the district has been redrawn since Ms. Bean served in Congress. This time, she found herself battling a challenge from the left.
Mr. Ahmed was backed by left-wing leaders including Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts as well as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. (Ms. Warren campaigned with Mr. Ahmed in the race’s final days.)
Ms. Bean had support from Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the influential former Democratic House speaker; Senator Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois; and Representative Greg Landsman, a moderate Democrat from a swing district in Ohio.
She suggested that the support reflected her past work in Congress.
“I was part of a working majority that really made a difference in people’s lives,” Ms. Bean said. “Because Democrats believe in government.”
The post Centrist Melissa Bean Wins 8th District Democratic Primary appeared first on New York Times.
