Former congresswoman Melissa Bean won Tuesday’s Democratic primary election in the eighth district of Illinois, the seat Bean held from 2005 to 2011.

Bean’s name recognition and high-profile endorsements propelled her to victory with help from big-money interest groups supporting Israel and big tech. Her victory in the nine-person primary is something of a win for the Democratic establishment over its progressive wing, which favored Junaid Ahmed in the eighth district.

In an interview with HuffPost last week, Bean said voters appreciated how she served in Congress when Barack Obama was president and Democrats enacted sweeping reforms of the health care and financial industries. And she said voters valued an experienced candidate.

“They want someone who’s going to hit the ground running, because there’s a real urgency about what’s going on in this country,” Bean said. “They want to know you’re going to know how to get out there and stop the chaos and do something about it.”

Bean won endorsements from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and several other senior Democrats, while Ahmed had the backing of progressive icons such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

The progressive group Justice Democrats blasted Bean in a TV ad for her centrist voting record during her three terms in the House: “She voted with Republicans to fund ICE, increase your Medicare premiums and give tax cuts to billionaires.”

Though Bean has touted her votes for the Affordable Care Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill, she worked against progressives on aspects of the latter bill and won a reputation as “Wall Street’s favorite Democrat.”

Bean told HuffPost she agreed with Democrats refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security over aggressive ICE tactics that killed two American citizens in Minnesota earlier this year.

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