In 2006, Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy fell just 1,062 votes shy of defeating Representative Deborah Pryce, a member of the House Republican leadership. With Pryce retiring, Kilroy is a strong contender in one of the most competitive open seats in the country.

Kilroy has made the war in Iraq and the disastrous course of foreign policy under George Bush an important part of her 2008 campaign. She has been a vocal critic of the war and has also criticized attempts to paint critics of the war as soft on terrorism. "I opposed the war from the start" she says, "and it is critical that we elect a Congress and a President who will bring the troops home. The 2008 elections give us the chance to do both."

In our interview with Mary Jo Kilroy, she extended her criticism of Bush foreign policy to include the failure to stress diplomacy, saying "the Bush administration took their eye off the ball" when it came to addressing the sources of conflict in the Middle East. She has promised to support meaningful US leadership in pursuing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as an expression of strong American support for the state of Israel. She also stated her commitment to the "unique and strong partnership between the United States and the state of Israel."

With a deep connection to the conflict in Northern Ireland, Kilroy understands what it takes to help long-time adversaries find common ground. The key she says is engagement - particularly with people with whom we do not agree - because only then can you bring conflict to an end. That's tough, smart foreign policy in our eyes.

Kilroy has a great shot at winning a tough race, as she has a history of defeating long odds and well-funded opponents. In 2000, she became the lone Democrat on the Franklin County Commission after defeating a Republican who had raised nearly four times as much money as her. Four years later Kilroy won re-election, helping Democrats take control of the commission after a 20-year lockout.

Kilroy's personal story is highly motivational. She writes on her website: "My dad was a pipefitter and I paid my own way through college working as a waitress, a blood technician at a hospital and doing clerical work. I scraped and saved and did without to make ends meet. I know what it's like to be short at the end of the month and do without health insurance." She is married, with two daughters and lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband, a partner in a local law firm.

JStreetPAC is proud to include Mary Jo Kilroy in our first round of endorsements and we're looking forward to welcoming her to Congress in 2009.

Learn more about and support other JStreetPAC endorsed candidates here.