Primaries Really Do Matter

by Ilya Sheyman [courtesy of Blog for America]

Last week, as part of our "Primaries Matter" campaign, and thanks to the dilligent work of DFA members at Northside DFA and Oak Park DFA, we added Mark Pera to our "A-List" in his race for Congress in the Illinois 3rd district.

Here's a quick reminder of why this primary matters:

Congressman Dan Lipinski is out of touch with his district. He can't stop himself from voting with the Bush party line to prevent life-saving stem cell research or give oil companies even higher profits. He's even voted five times to keep funding Bush's war and supports keeping troops in Iraq beyond 2010.

The race is really starting to gear up and I just got an update from Northside DFA organizer Sandra Verthein about the race.

Challenger outraises Lipinski in Q3

A Western Springs attorney mounting a primary campaign challenge to Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) accomplished a rare feat over the last three months: He outraised the incumbent.

Mark Pera, an assistant state's attorney with the Cook County state's attorney's office and a former school board president, raised $100,000 for the third quarter of this year. Lipinski raised $76,000.

But, this race isn't going to be decided by money alone. This wednesday, Northside DFA members will be writing letters to other DFA members in the 3rd district asking them to give time and money to the Pera campaign.

If you're in the area, please do all you can to support Northside DFA members and Mark Pera. We'll keep you updated as the race heats up in the months ahead!