Jesse Kelly is an ex-Marine and Iraq war veteran who is taking on an incumbent Democrat, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in Arizona’s Eighth Congressional District.
Mr. Kelly is pure tea party – as the Cook Political Report puts it, his “anti-politician, shoot from the hip style set the GOP base in this district on fire.”
The district leans Republican – it reliably votes GOP in presidential elections – so Kelly has a good shot at victory. But Representative Giffords is fighting back, portraying Kelly as less-than-firm about protecting Social Security, among other things, and Arizona's Eighth has also supported moderates at the House level in the past.
Election Night will tell whether the nation’s anti-incumbent mood will take Kelly over the top.
