Pro-Life Democrat Stands Out in Illinois Primary

There are approximately 20 Democrats vying to replace retiring Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush in the state’s 1st Congressional District, a safe blue seat. But one candidate hopes that his early entrance into the race and his unique platform will help him stand out from the crowd with Chicago voters.

Chris Butler, a pastor, is one of those candidates. In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Butler said he made his decision to run before Rush announced his retirement and was prepared to primary the longtime congressman.

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“I feel strongly we really have to refocus our politics on working families,” Butler said, saying he got into the race a year ago and then after Rush’s retirement. “A lot of folks, you know, for various reasons, have the revelation after he decided not to run that they should run.”

In a field that includes college professor and civil rights activist Jonathan Jackson, the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and former Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership CEO Karin Norington-Reaves, who has been endorsed by Rush, Butler says there is something else that sets him apart: his platform.

“We cannot let a party become a proxy for values,” Butler said, outlining some standard Democratic policy positions — but also positions that are in contrast to many in his party, including opposition to abortion.

“I am a Democrat who wants to figure out how we protect the lives of preborn children,” Butler said. “I want to figure out how we continue to invest in and partner with our local police department while continuing to cultivate trust between those men and women who serve in uniform and the community where they serve. I’m a Democrat who’s very serious about making sure that every family and every child has access to the best quality education that they possibly can access, and that means opening up every avenue of school option.”

Butler said he also wants to address economic inequality and housing and ensure access to affordable healthcare, particularly for communities disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

His own Democratic views, he said, wouldn’t prevent him from working with Republicans, praising in particular a proposal from South Carolina GOP Sen. Tim Scott on police reform.

“Sen. Tim Scott had what I thought was a proposal that certainly could be a very good starting place for conversation,” he said.

Butler was endorsed by former 3rd District Rep. Dan Lipinski, one of the last House Democrats to oppose abortion before his narrow 2020 primary loss to the liberal Rep. Marie Newman. Illinois’s redistricting process shifted the two districts’ lines, and Lipinski represented about 10% of the district Butler is seeking to represent, according to Daily Kos Elections.

Butler argued Democrats should look for ways to prevent abortion and support women facing unplanned pregnancies as a matter of social justice. He held a fundraiser this week with Lipinski and former NFL player Benjamin Watson, both anti-abortion activists.

Asked if his anti-abortion views could be a detriment to his candidacy as a Democrat, especially in light of previous efforts from Democrats to primary Lipinski, Butler said his views are part of a “whole life” approach informed by his faith.

“I’m finding that as we’re going around and having these conversations that many, many people in the community are excited about the opportunity to vote for a candidate that is not going to force them to essentially choose between values that are very important to them but can actually bring a holistic view,” he said.

Butler argued that forcing out anti-abortion Democrats from the party would force out people like his own mother and grandmother, who have supported Democratic candidates while maintaining their own views on the subject of abortion.

Butler said he grew up in Chicago and has deep ties to the community, so he “didn’t learn these values somewhere else.”

“There is, I think, an opportunity to have a different conversation, to have a fresh conversation, and maybe make some new headway in how we deal with, you know, something that is one of those issues that I think a lot of folks would love to use to kind of keep folks apart,” he said. “I do think that there’s an opportunity to come together.”

Whatever his own outcome in the race, Butler said, he said that the only way to change the political climate is to elect candidates with voters’ shared values over a party label.

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“I think that this is a moment for the whole nation, every person everywhere, to take a deeper look,” he said.

The primary elections in Illinois are scheduled for June 28.