Tuesday's 13-candidate, nonpartisan special election to replace the late GOP Rep. Alan Nunnelee couldn't have gone better for Republican Trent Kelly, a regional prosecutor and Iraq veteran. Kelly earned one of the two June 2 runoff slots with just 16 percent of the vote. But even better, the other slot went to Democrat Walter Zinn, a former aide to the mayor of Jackson who raised just $11,500 but rallied enough Democrats to finish first with 17 percent of the vote. If Kelly had faced another Republican in the runoff, as was expected, he could have faced an uphill climb against a better-funded opponent. Kelly gained mileage from an endorsement from Nunnelee's widow and his profile as a colonel in the state's Army National Guard, but raised just $117,000 as of late April. Astonishingly, there were seven GOP candidates who each raised more than Kelly and Zinn combined, including several self-funders, but none made the runoff. Now, Kelly is virtually assured of victory in the June 2 runoff. Mississippi's 1st CD, which takes in the northeastern corner of the state, gave

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