NRA ally Debbie Halvorson could win Jesse Jackson Jr.’s Chicago seat

[FarCenter]

A white ex-congresswoman with an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association is the front-runner to replace former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. in a majority-black Chicagoland district with inner-city neighborhoods wracked by gun violence.

At first glance, Debbie Halvorson should have no business winning the Feb. 26 special election. The former Democratic congresswoman was crushed by Jackson in a primary last year. She’s a white Democrat seeking to represent a district in which 54 percent of voters are African-American.

And she’s an unapologetic Second Amendment backer — with endorsements from the NRA in two of her previous congressional campaigns — despite an outpouring of concern among voters and her campaign rivals about gun violence.

Yet there’s reason to think Halvorson could eke out a win. She is a known entity in much of the district thanks to her time in Congress and earlier rise to state Senate majority leader — the first woman to hold the post. Sixteen other candidates are vying for the Democratic nod, and all of her formidable competitors are African-American. That creates a possibility that the black vote will splinter, opening a path for Halvorson.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/nra-ally-debbie-halvorson-could-win-jesse-jackson-jrs-chicago-seat-86772.html

[LTR]

1. I guess house races don't have runoffs

And the first comment is from some Republican a-hole making a snide remark about corrupt Chicago politics. News flash: The Republican political machines in states like Texas and Wisconsin are even more corrupt. Douchebag.