Pro-Gun Control Dem Wins Ill. Race on Bloomberg Dime

A pro-gun control candidate has won the first congressional contest since the Sandy Hook school shooting, reports CNN. Robin Kelly defeated National Rifle Association-approved rival Debbie Halvorson to win the Democratic primary for the Chicago-area House seat vacated by Jesse Jackson Jr. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg bankrolled a $2 million pro-Kelly ad campaign that made guns the contest's central issue, Reuters reports.

"The voters sent a message that tells the NRA that their days of holding our country hostage are coming to an end," Kelly told supporters. "And their days of scaring Congress into submission on gun control are coming to a close." After she was declared the winner, Bloomberg said the result should send a message to Washington. "As Congress considers the president's gun package, voters in Illinois have sent a clear message: We need common sense gun legislation now. Now it's up to Washington to act." (More Robin Kelly stories.)