Jesse Kelly
Jesse N. Kelly, born July 20, 1981, is a conservative running as a Republican for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 8th District of Arizona in the 2010 election. If nominated he would face incumbent Representative Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat. The district encompasses Tucson and Cochise County in Southeast Arizona; Giffords won the district with 54% in 2006 and 55% in 2008. Currently, the district has over 13,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats according to the Arizona Secretary of State.[1]
Kelly, at age 28, has never held office or run for office before. He raised $114,000 in July-Aug.-Sept 2009.
Career
Kelly briefly attended Montana State University and left prior to completion, instead deciding to serve his country and join the United States Marine Corps. Kelly served four years in the Marine Corps obtaining the rank of Sergeant; he led a squad of Marines while deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Kelly works in the family construction business in Tucson. Managing multi-million dollar infrastructure projects for state and local governments, his duties include: estimating, scheduling, budget analysis, and human resource management.
He is married with a son; the family attends Alive Christian Fellowship Church of Tucson.
Positions
Kelly is pro-life and a pro-Second Amendment member of the NRA, and holds many additional traditional conservative values.
Endorsements
Congressman Trent Franks, AZ-2
Congressman Michele Bachmann, MN-6[1]
Congressman Mike Pence, IN-6[2]
Congressman John Shimkus, IL-19
Congressman Marsha Blackburn, TN-7
Congressman Frank Wolf, VA-10
Congressman Duncan D. Hunter, CA-52
Former Congressman Barry Goldwater, Jr.
Former Congressman Duncan Hunter
Lieutenant General Robert B. Johnston, USMC (Ret.)
Radio Talk Show Host, Mark Levin[3]
Arizona State Senator Al Melvin, LD-26
Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce, LD-18
Maricopa County Sheriff, Joe Arpaio
Pinal County Sheriff, Paul Babeu
912 Candidate
Minuteman PAC
Combat Veterans for Congress PAC
Iraq Veterans for Congress PAC
One Nation PAC
Media
Kelly is active in local and national media and the Internet. He has appeared on the Fox News Channel and heard on national radio shows such as the Mark Levin Show, America's Morning News, and the Wilkow Majority. Some appearances can be seen on his YouTube page[2]. Additionally, Kelly has run national advertising on the Drudge Report.
