Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., center, is greeted by, from left, Reps. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., Jackie Speier, D-Calif., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at a ceremony in the Capitol in November to name the House Democratic Cloakroom in honor of Giffords and the late Rep. Leo Ryan, D-Calif., who were victims of gun violence. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords is backing Rep. Leonard Lance[1] in his bid for for a sixth term in New Jersey.
It’s a notable endorsement because it crosses party lines: Giffords, one of the nation’s leading gun control advocates and a former Democratic congresswoman from Arizona, vacated her seat in 2012 after she was shot in 2011 in an apparent assassination attempt.
Lance, a Republican, has bucked the party line and been one of the most vocal proponents in the GOP of imposing more restrictive gun measures.
On the website for her advocacy group and super PAC, Giffords describes Lance as a “problem-solving representative” who supports expanding background checks and was “one of the first members of Congress to cosponsor a bipartisan bill to ban bump stocks” after the Las Vegas shooting last year.
The Republican from New Jersey’s 7th District is in a tough re-election campaign against Tom Malinowski, a former Obama State Department official.
Lance won the district by a sound 11 points in 2016, even though Hillary Clinton[2] carried it by 2 points over President Donald Trump.
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales[3] rates the race Tilts Republican[4].
Lance has also supported closing the gun show loophole, using a universal background check system, and allowing the feds to research the effects of gun violence.
“These are all
