(MCT) — Sensing momentum in the closing days of the special Democratic primary campaign to replace the disgraced Jesse Jackson Jr., Robin Kelly's campaign announced that she would no longer engage her rivals at candidate forums, and her daily schedule of public events was sparse.

The risk-averse strategy, bolstered by $2.2 million in spending from the anti-gun super political action committee run by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, worked. But in a 2nd Congressional District without representation since June, where an absent Jackson was re-elected in November, Kelly will have to step up her public presence.