Kelly Cruises To IL-2 Primary Victory

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 27, 2013 6:45PM

Former state Rep. Robin Kelly easily won the Democratic nomination to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. as Second Congressional District representative Tuesday and will almost certainly make filling the empty seat left by Jackson academic when the general election is held April 9.

Kelly earned 52 percent of the vote to former congresswoman Debbie Halvorson’s 25 percent. Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) finished third with 11 percent of the vote. Kelly emerged as the frontrunner in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s vote with a campaign that focused on bringing jobs to the district and gun control. The race was also notable for the $2.2 million in money from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Independence USA SuperPAC that was used to attack Halvorson’s record on gun control.
Halvorson told her supporters to back Kelly in the general election but made it clear she blamed her loss on Bloomberg. Per the Tribune:

"We all know how rough it was for me to have to run an election against someone who spent ($2.2) million against me," Halvorson said at Homewood restaurant. "Every 7½ minutes there was a commercial."

Kelly said she could have won the primary without Bloomberg’s money. (For what it’s worth, we agree.) But it didn’t stop her from putting the gun control issue front and center as she moves forward.

“You sent a message that was heard around our state and across the nation,” Kelly said in her acceptance speech Tuesday night. “A message that tells the NRA that their days of holding our country hostage are coming to an end. And their days of scaring Congress into submission on gun control are coming to a close.”

The Republican frontrunner in the race to replace Jackson is Paul McKinley, a self-described convicted felon. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, McKinley held a 23 vote lead over businessman Eric Wallace.