Democrat wins easily in Illinois special election
April 9, 2013
Chicago, Illinois: Candidate Robin Kelly (D) easily defeated lesser-known Republican opponent Paul McKinley and a handful of third-party candidates yesterday to win the open seat in Illinois' 2nd Congressional District.[1] With slightly less than 100% of votes counted, Kelly was leading with 70.8% of the vote, Kinley taking in only 22.1% of the vote, and the remaining Green Party and Independent candidates trailing with single-digit percentages.[2]
The district, whose previous representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. resigned in November 2012 amid health concerns and subsequent fraud and conspiracy charges, has been without a voice in the U.S. House for the better part of the last year.[3][4] Jackson pled guilty to misuse of campaign funds in January and is expected to be sentenced in June 2013.[5]
Kelly had been widely expected to win in the Democrat-leaning district, which includes the South Side of Chicago and its suburbs.[3] She is expected to be sworn in by the end of the week.[3] According to many, Kelly’s fate was essentially sealed when she won the February 26 Democratic primary.[6]
Kelly emerged from a crowded field of Democratic candidates in the February primary by focusing heavily on anti-gun efforts and was helped by ads and funding from New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's super PAC.[6][3] Going into the primary, Kelly vowed to become a leader in the federal fight for gun control legislation and echoed the same sentiment after winning the nomination.[7]
She previously represented the 38th District in the Illinois General Assembly before becoming the first African American chief of staff to a constitutional officer in state history when she joined the office of then-Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (D) in 2007.[6] She unsuccessfully ran for state treasurer in 2010.[6]
| U.S. House, Illinois District 2 Special Election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Robin Kelly |
70.7% | 58,834 | |
| Republican | Paul McKinley | 22.1% | 18,387 | |
| Independent | Elizabeth Pahlke | 3% | 2,525 | |
| Green | LeAlan M. Jones | 1.8% | 1,531 | |
| Independent | Marcus Lewis | 1.6% | 1,359 | |
| Independent | Curtis Llong Bey | 0.7% | 548 | |
| Write-in | Steve Piekarczyk | 0% | 9 | |
| Total Votes | 83,193 | |||
| Source: Results via Illinois State Board of Elections | ||||
See also
|
- Illinois' 2nd Congressional District special election, 2013
- Former Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.
- Robin Kelly
- Illinois elections, 2013
- United States House of Representatives
- Illinois' 2nd Congressional District
- United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois, 2012
- Special elections to the 113th United States Congress (2013-2014)
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "2013 Election Results" accessed April 9, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "2013 Illinois 2nd District Special Election Results" accessed April 9, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 New York Times, "Democrat Wins Race to Fill Jackson’s Seat" accessed April 9, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Jesse Jackson Jr. resigns from Congress" accessed November 21, 2012
- ↑ Politico, "Robin Kelly captures vacant Illinois House seat" accessed April 9, 2013
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Washington Post, "Robin Kelly wins Illinois special election" accessed April 9, 2013
- ↑ Washington Post, "Robin Kelly wins Illinois special election" accessed April 9, 2013
| |||||
