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A Justice Democrats-backed candidate seeking to represent Illinois’ 7th Congressional District is no stranger to controversy, offering several comments over the last few years that have directly aligned her with the Democratic Party’s deeply progressive wing in the House.
Kina Collins, who formerly served on President Joe Biden’s transition team and task force for gun violence prevention, is once again challenging incumbent Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., who has represented the 7th District since 1997. Collins ran against Davis in the district’s 2020 primary election and was defeated by a wide margin, earning only 13.8% of the vote compared to Davis’ 61.4%.
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Kina Collins speaks at the Chicago Climate Summit at Benito Juarez Community Academy on April 23, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Jeff Schear/Getty Images for IL GND Coalition)
Collins is supported by Justice Democrats, a far-left organization that has helped to elect progressive candidates, such as “Squad” members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. In addition, she has received endorsements from the Center for Racial and Gender Equity and the Illinois Youth Climate Movement.
Offering support for several controversial ideas in recent time, Collins has called for defunding the police and the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Collins was front and center filming a Facebook Live video of a “Defund the Police” rally in July 2020 and marched with protesters chanting to “defund the police” in a separate Facebook Live video the same day.
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Claiming in multiple Facebook posts, some of which are no longer viewable, that “immigrant families are constantly living in a state of fear,” Collins called for an end to ICE.
“Stoked by a US President fueled by white nationalism, immigrants are being targeted in violent attacks by extremists and at the same time are overpoliced and detained by a government that should be doing everything to protect them,” Collins wrote at the time.
Challenger Kina Collins, left, campaigns door-to-door with her manager, Isabel Alter, on May 29, 2022, in Chicago's Galewood neighborhood. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“There is no middle ground – ICE must be abolished and its practices and abuses under this administration must be investigated. #AbolishICE,” she also wrote.
Collins also made a post to her Instagram page that called for people “to push legislators to defund ICE” before abolishing it completely.
She also supported the bail fund for arrested Black Lives Matter protesters in Atlanta, asking for a link to the fund in a June 2020 Facebook post so she and others “can start donating and getting our comrades out today and tomorrow.”
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Collins posted a photo of protesters burning down an Arby’s to her Instagram in May 2020 with the caption “AFRICAN PROVERB: The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” That post by Collins appears to have since been deleted.
Kina Collins hosts a discussion on abortion access and reproductive rights at the Kehrein Center for the Arts in Chicago on May 16, 2022. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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While it is unclear whether she will advance to the general election following Tuesday’s election in the state, support from Justice Democrats has propelled Collins’ candidacy and placed her in a better position as she aims to unseat Davis in the solid Democratic district.
Collins’ campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News’ Houston Keene contributed to this article.