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Gun control is no longer the losing message for swing district Democrats that it used to be. Gun control groups like Giffords PAC are playing in are suburban battlegrounds, and Democrats in swing districts now pledge to stand up to the NRA.
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The messaging does not skirt guns; instead, ads in these suburban districts call for more gun control and challenge the NRA. “Today, our children huddle in supply closets, hoping the next school shooter doesn’t take aim at them,” a Giffords ad[2] in TX-07 says. “Why? Because Washington politicians like [GOP Rep.] John Culberson take tens of thousands from the NRA and then vote against our safety.”
On the airwaves, pro-gun control groups are vastly outspending the NRA in the battle for the House. Giffords PAC has spent just under $5 million in airtime in four districts (CO-06, TX-07, MN-02, VA-10) in the general election through the end of this week, according to data provided to Score by Advertising Analytics. Meanwhile, the NRA Political Victory Fund has dropped just over $480,000 in four districts (TX-07, NC-13, MN-08 and VA-05) in the same timeframe, per Advertising Analytics. Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, a pro-gun control group backed by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has also dropped $1.4 million in general election airwave spending in GA-06, backing Lucy McBath, a gun control activist who has worked with the group, according
