CHICAGO – In the race to replace former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s super PAC followed a simple strategy: Choose a strong anti-gun candidate, attack rivals supported by the National Rifle Association and add in $2.2 million in resources.

It worked. Bloomberg’s candidate, former Illinois lawmaker Robin Kelly, sailed past more than a dozen rivals to win the Democratic primary in this Chicago-area district where guns became the main issue. Bloomberg’s super PAC, Independence USA, boasted Wednesday that the race would be its template for future elections. But political experts and public officials were skeptical if the effort can be replicated elsewhere.

“That is a harbinger of what is to come,” said Bloomberg pollster Doug Schoen, who worked previously for President Bill Clinton. “While Chicago may not be the rest of the country, I have been at this 35 years, and I’ve yet to find an elected official who does not look at an election like this and sit up and take notice.”