Politics
Robin Kelly wins Illinois primary in bid to replace Jesse Jackson Jr.
“It shows, unfortunately, you can’t go up against that big money. … That’s the problem with super PACs,” said Halvorson, who unsuccessfully challenged Jackson in a primary last year. “There is nothing I could have done differently.”
Because the district is overwhelmingly Democratic, Kelly’s primary win all but assures she will sail through the April 9 general election and head to Washington.
On Tuesday, Kelly told supporters that she would work with Obama and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to get gun control legislation through Congress.
However, gun-rights advocates dismissed the notion that Kelly’s election and Bloomberg’s attention would fuel the debate on gun control.
“This is an aberration,” said Illinois State Rifle Association spokesman Richard Pearson. “This shows what you can do with US$2 million in an offseason race. He bought the election.”
Roughly 14 percent of registered voters came to the polls, an estimate Chicago officials called the lowest turnout in decades. Adding to the problem was a blast of wintry weather that snarled traffic and could have kept some voters home.
But those who did cast ballots indicated that guns, ethics and economic woes were on their minds.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
