Opposing NRA has built momentum for Robin Kelly in her blue district, but will it work elsewhere?

Sen. Kay Hagan unlikely to tout her "F" from the NRA as Robin Kelly has done. The battle in Illinois's deep-blue Second Congressional District'where Daily Kos has played an important pioneering role backing Robin Kelly in the primary election campaign there'illustrates how challenging the National Rifle Association can make a positive difference for a candidate willing to take that route. That's a big change from the very recent past.

Until the 12/14 Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school slaughter, even in the bluest districts, most Democrats had spent years'since the mid-'90s really'shying away from anything even hinting that they might favor new gun-control laws. The issue was seen as a loser and most candidates, incumbents and challengers alike, were resigned to the NRA's dominance. Across the netroots, too, the issue of gun control went all but unmentioned in the 2012 campaign.

Kelly, however, as we've been documenting since she began her campaign to replace Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., has taken the NRA head-on, pointing out her Democratic opponents' "A" rating from the gun industry's mouthpiece while touting the "F" it has given her. Those running against her have even complained she's made the contest a one-issue race. At NBC, Mark Murray writes:

In past Democratic primaries, an NRA endorsement was either a badge of honor or something that at least wasn't viewed as a major liability. That may not be true anymore, at least in congressional districts like this one in Illinois.

Because it is a special primary election with lots of names on the ballot and expectations of the usual extremely low turnout such elections garner, she doesn't have the race yet in the bag, but Kelly's prospects look very good. If she does win, that could be a green light for other Democrats to follow the same path. There have been, after all, poll after poll since the Newtown massacre showing that Americans support more restrictions on who can buy guns and what kinds. Polls also show a drop in favorability for the NRA.

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