CHICAGO — Riding a wave of "super PAC" spending that helped catapult her to the front of a crowded Democratic field, Robin Kelly, whose campaign called for tougher national gun laws, clinched her party's nomination Tuesday in a special primary election for the House seat vacated by Representative Jesse L. Jackson Jr.
The outcome of the contest, which had been unexpectedly cast into the center of the national gun debate, was welcome news for Michael R. Bloomberg, the mayor of New York and a staunch gun-control advocate. He poured more than $2.2 million into attacking Ms. Kelly's chief opponent, Debbie Halvorson, this month.
Flooding Chicago airwaves, Mr. Bloomberg's super PAC, Independence USA, ran a series of advertisements criticizing Ms. Halvorson for opposing certain gun control measures and endorsing Ms. Kelly as the alternative candidate.
The advertising campaign, a huge amount for a single House race, set up Ms. Halvorson's defeat on Tuesday as a shot across the bow to other Democrats supporting gun rights, a sign of what could await future candidates who do not align with Mr. Bloomberg's quest to change firearm laws across the country.
Because of the political makeup of the district, Ms. Kelly is now all but certain to win the general election on April 9.
"We made a concerted effort to say from the very beginning that this was not going to be about money, it was going to be about people," Ms. Halvorson said. "Little did we know how much it wasn't going to be about the money on our part."
Mr. Bloomberg has been vocal about his plan to spend some of his personal fortune on candidates who share his views on specific policy issues, including firearms. "As Congress considers the president's gun package," he said in a statement after the Chicago results came in, "voters in Illinois have sent a clear message: we need common-sense gun legislation now."
In Illinois's Second Congressional District, which includes parts of the South Side of Chicago and southern suburban counties, Mr. Bloomberg's super PAC financed a wave of mailers and television advertisements that criticized Ms. Halvorson, a former House member, for having gotten an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association in earlier elections and for opposing bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazine clips.
Ms. Halvorson, who supports universal background checks for gun buyers, was forced to defend her positions at campaign stops throughout the district.
Last week, the Illinois State Rifle Association responded to Mr. Bloomberg's effort by sending out mailers asking its members in the district to vote for Ms. Halvorson on Tuesday. Ms. Halvorson said she had not asked for the endorsement.
She was considered a front-runner after Mr. Jackson resigned in November, just weeks after his re-election. He pleaded guilty last week to one count of fraud for spending campaign money on personal expenses and celebrity memorabilia.
Ms. Halvorson, who is white, challenged Mr. Jackson and lost in a primary election last year. She mustered about 29 percent of the vote to Mr. Jackson's 71 percent in the district, which has an African-American majority.
This time, a similar showing was thought to be enough to hand Ms. Halvorson a victory. With the chance that other candidates could divide the support of black voters, African-American community leaders raised concerns about the possibility of losing a seat that has been held by a black congressman for three decades.
In her victory speech, Ms. Kelly, a former state representative who has worked as a chief of staff for the Illinois state treasurer, told supporters they had sent "a message that tells the N.R.A. that their days of holding our country hostage are coming to an end."
Her calls for more gun control came as Chicago has been in the national spotlight for its level of gun violence.
"Guns were in the air," said Don Rose, a longtime political consultant in Chicago. "It would have gotten some attention anyway, but once Bloomberg put the money in there, he defined it."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Robin Kelly Wins Primary for Jesse Jackson Seat
Dengan url
https://dunialuasekali.blogspot.com/2013/02/robin-kelly-wins-primary-for-jesse.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Robin Kelly Wins Primary for Jesse Jackson Seat
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Robin Kelly Wins Primary for Jesse Jackson Seat
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar