CHICAGO (AP) - Former state Rep. Robin Kelly says she's still a little shocked to have won the Democratic nomination to replace former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.
She won over Democratic front runners former U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson and Chicago Alderman Anthony Beale, who both called her to concede.
Kelly emerged early on as an anti-guns voice and her campaign got a boost when New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's super PAC poured $2 million in ads supporting her and blasting Halvorson, who doesn't favor an assault weapons ban.
Halvorson says big money won the race.
But Kelly says no one complains when the National Rifle Association pours money into races. She says she had a good team that worked hard on the ground.
Meanwhile, the race among Republicans to replace former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is too close to call.
Chicago resident Paul McKinley was leading fellow Republican Eric Wallace by about two dozen votes as of late Tuesday night. But with a handful of precincts outstanding, no winner was declared.
But regardless of the outcome, the winner will enter the April 9 general election with a huge disadvantage.
The 2nd Congressional District is heavily Democratic, and no Republican has won the Chicago-area seat in more than 50 years.
McKinley is a political newcomer. Wallace founded a Christian publishing company and ran an unsuccessful campaign for Illinois Senate in 2006.
Jackson resigned in November. He pleaded guilty earlier this month to spending about $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items.
