Longtime Illinois House Democrat Receives Primary Challenger Backed by Far-Left Group

The far-left group Justice Democrats has backed Kina Collins, a Democrat challenging the longtime Democrat from Illinois, Rep. Danny Davis, for his congressional seat.

Collins, in her announcement, said, “I grew up on the West Side of Chicago with organizing in my blood.”

She added that her dad was in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and her mom was in the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). 

“I’ve turned activism into action for Black lives, Medicare For All, and to end gun violence,” she continued to say. “It’s time for #IL07 to elect a progressive leader who fights as hard as we do.”

The current representative, Davis, has been a member of Congress since 1997. Collins has been on the far-left group’s target list in recent years, according to the Hill.

Justice Democrats try to help candidates who are far-left-leaning in hopes of unseating long-time powerful veteran lawmakers across the country.

In 2020, Davis received over 80 percent of the vote in the general election. During the election, Collins challenged Davis for the first time. She ended up coming in second place in the Democrat primary, with less than 14 percent of the vote.

This time around, the far-left group is helping her campaign as they try to funnel support from the far-left side of the party to take on the long-time incumbent.

In the release from the Justice Democrats, the group touted previous candidates they have helped to take out incumbents, while mentioning the group is now backing Collins in the current race.