Bloomberg vs. NRA: Big spending could swing Illinois race

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 'super PAC' is spending $2.1 million to defeat a pro-gun candidate in the race to replace Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. It's part of his broader attack on NRA power.

By Mark Guarino,?Staff writer / February 19, 2013

Former Illinois state representative and Democratic congressional hopeful Robin Kelly speaks to the International Ministers & Community Alliance earlier this month in Chicago after receiving its endorsement to replace Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. in Illinois' Second Congressional District.

M. Spencer Green/AP

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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is sending a message to Democratic officials nationwide with upwardly mobile ambitions: Support the National Rifle Association at your peril.

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Through the "super political-action committee" he launched shortly before the November election, Mayor Bloomberg has purchased $2.1 million in political attack ads in the special vote to replace Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who resigned in November. The primary target is Debbie Halvorson, a former member of Congress who once received an ?A? rating from the NRA and opposes President Obama?s push for an assault-weapons ban.

The ad buy points how gun-rights groups are trying to use new leverage to change Washington's political calculus on gun control. For years, the Democratic Party has embraced pro-gun candidates in an effort to expand its base. But recently, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D) and her husband have sought to use the massacre in Newtown, Conn., as well as her own shooting, to reverse this trend.

Now, Bloomberg is using his own vast fortune to hit opponents where it hurts most: on the airwaves. It is a message that could resonate in Illinois' Second Congressional District, which is in Chicago, a city currently wracked by gun violence. And while there's no polling on the Democratic race, at least one prominent election watcher has said Bloomberg's ads could swing the contest.

?Gun control is Bloomberg?s longstanding cause, and part of the reason he can get involved in so many races is he?s got so much money. It?s his privilege to do it,? says Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. ?And there is one big difference between Halvorson and [challenger Robin] Kelly, and it is guns.?

One ad sponsored by Bloomberg's super PAC, Independence USA, says of Ms. Halvorson: ?When it comes to preventing gun violence, she gets an ?F.? ?

Halvorson accuses Bloomberg of trying to ?purchase? the election. ?We cannot allow Bloomberg to buy this district from New York,? she told reporters Monday.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/zchq4Orgiu8/Bloomberg-vs.-NRA-Big-spending-could-swing-Illinois-race

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