Everytown hits GOP on gun safety in closing $4.5M battleground ad barrage

Everytown for Gun Safety is spending $4.5 million in a home-stretch ad effort aimed at hitting Republican candidates over the issue of gun safety and COVID-19 in key battleground states, the group said Monday.

The organization founded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement that the effort would focus on Arizona, North Carolina and Texas, states seen as key battlegrounds for control of the House.

“As COVID-19 rates rise and gun violence continues to claim 100 American lives a day, Everytown is doubling down on our work to hold politicians accountable for failing to address these two public health emergencies,” said Everytown President John Feinblatt in the news release.

“A clear majority of Americans want stronger gun laws, and we’re going to make sure their voices are heard on Election Day,” he added.

The group indicated that $2.2 million would be split between the efforts to oppose Troy Nehls (R) and Beth Van Duyne (R) in Texas’s 22nd and 24th congressional districts, respectively, while $1.4 million would target various state legislative races in Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina and Texas.

Everytown’s effort will also fund more than $700,000 worth of get out the vote ads in Arizona, North Carolina and Texas as well as mail ads against Republican candidates in Arizona, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.

The ads focus on Republicans’ response to the levels of gun violence in the U.S., and compares it to the Trump administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far infected more than 8 million Americans and killed nearly 220,000.

“As people are heading to the polls, we’re going to be there to remind voters which lawmakers have done absolutely nothing to prevent our gun violence crisis, and urge them to elect gun sense candidates,” said Charlie Kelly, the group’s senior political adviser.

A FiveThirtyEight analysis of polls shows Democrats currently holding just over a 7 point lead on a generic House ballot, indicating that the party holds the advantage for control of the chamber heading in to November.