Back in August 2009, I wrote about former Marine Jesse Kelly, a Republican candidate who had impressed me when he held his own impromptu town hall after the Democrat Representative cancelled hers. He comported himself pretty well, I thought. The Democrat in question was Gabrielle Giffords, whose tragic shooting caught the nation’s attention.

Mr. Kelly has now taken a big step towards replacing the retiring Giffords in the House.

Jesse Kelly won the Republican primary for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District Tuesday and will now take on Democrat Ron Barber in a special election to decide who completes former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ term, the Arizona Daily Star reported.

We need more candidates like Kelly. He’s not afraid to take chances (like booking the room after Giffords cancelled), he’s able to articulate the conservative message well, and he’s willing to answer hard questions from potential constituents. Those are all things I like in a candidate, and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he didn’t stop at a House seat.

If you’re in Arizona’s 8th district, you could do far worse than supporting Kelly.