NEW JERSEY CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE TAMARA HARRIS CONGRATULATES LAUREN UNDERWOOD ON HER ILLINOIS PRIMARY WIN

Decision in crucial election shows that voters will support non-endorsed candidates

(March 21, 2018 – New Jersey) Tamara Harris today congratulated Lauren Underwood, who just won an upset victory in the race for the Democratic nomination for Congress from Illinois’ 14th District. Underwood won the district, which includes parts of six suburban counties west of Chicago, with more than 57 percent of the vote, despite having not been endorsed or supported by the local Democratic Party establishment. Instead, her opponent, Matthew Brolley, was endorsed by the Illinois Democratic County Chair’s Association and by several local Democratic elected officials. Brolley received 13.4 percent of the primary vote.

“I am ecstatic to congratulate Lauren Underwood on her impressive victory in the Illinois 14th District,” said Harris, who is running for the Democratic nomination in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District on June 5th. “Lauren is a capable, qualified candidate who continues a trend showing that the endorsement of party is no longer the key to winning the support of the people.

“As Barack Obama’s election in 2008 and Bernie Sanders’ strong support in the 2016 primaries showed, the core of today’s Democratic party is a diverse coalition of people who care more about a candidate’s position on critical issues than about the support of party bigwigs and special interests. This is why here in New Jersey, I am an advocate for open primaries in which voters have true freedom to choose who represents them in general elections, regardless of party lines, ” says Congressional Candidate Tamara Harris who has won the endorsements of Higher Heights and the Collective PAC.