Can This Democrat Win on a No More “Trayvon Martin Tragedies” Platform?

Mother Jones

Wilcox for Congress

Could the 2012 killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin prove a deciding factor in an Arizona Democratic congressional primary? Former Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox certainly hopes so. Seeking to gain an edge over her rival, ex-state Rep. Ruben Gallego, in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary, Wilcox’s campaign has invoked Martin’s shooting and her opponent’s past support for a controversial Stand Your Ground law.

“America doesn’t need more Trayvon Martin tragedies,” read a mailer distributed by Wilcox’s campaign earlier this month that blasted Gallego for voting “for an NRA-backed ‘Stand Your Ground’ law that made it easier to shoot someone and claim self-defense.” The mailer went on to cite Gallego’s B+ rating from the National Rifle Association, while asking voters to remember “tragedies like Newtown, CT” and “the theater in Aurora, CO.” (Those shootings did not involve Stand Your Ground.)

Wilcox, who was shot in the hip in 1997 by an angry constituent, has kept gun control front and center during the campaign, although not always successfully. She brought up Gallego’s vote at a recent debate; in June, her husband, Earl, confronted Gallego at a gun control rally, alleging that he was a “traitor to the cause.” Gallego, a former NRA member, has said he brought a handgun to work at the state capitol after receiving threats, but supports a ban on assault rifles and the county buyback program Wilcox helped to start.