Pro-Second Amendment Organizations are Spending Big Bucks in the Georgia Senate Runoffs
Jose Nino
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January 5, 2020 will witness two critical Senate races take place in Georgia.
Incumbent Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler and their Democrat challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock will square off to determine the fate of the Senate.
Should the two Democrat challengers come out on top, this could make federal gun policy a major issue during a presumptive Biden presidential administration.
A report by CNBC, observed that “gun control groups are far behind in supporting the two Democratic candidates monetarily, which could impact their chances of winning as well as President-elect Joe Biden’s hopes of passing gun control legislation in 2021.”
On the other hand, groups such as the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America have thrown their weight behind Perdue and Loeffler.
Since November 15, the NRA’s political branch has spent north of $2.2 million on billboards, ads, postcards, texting and canvassing that favors Perdue and Loeffler or attacks Ossoff and Warnock.
According to Federal Election Commission data, Gun Owners of America also spent over $126,000 on ads, emails and text messages portraying Loeffler and Perdue in a positive light. Similarly, Gun Rights America, the National Association for Gun Rights’s super PAC, spent more than $22,000 on digital advertising and voter outreach by phone, mail and text in opposition to Warnock and Ossoff.
“It’s in the best interest of the United States and our Second Amendment rights if [Ossoff and Warnock] both lose on January 5th,” declared Dudley Brown, executive director of Gun Rights America.“I certainly hope their ambitious political careers fade into obscurity and Georgia voters save the U.S. Senate.”
Brady PAC is the only pro-gun control group from outside the state that’s pouring money into the Senate runoff. According to FEC figures, Brady PAC spent $100,000 on a digital ad campaign targeting Loeffler, which mostly targeted suburban female voters.
The gun control organization joined other groups such as Giffords,Everytown for Gun Safety, and Moms Demand Action to raise $100,000 for the Georgia Senate Victory Fund, which functions as a joint fundraising committee for Warnock and Ossoff. The gun control organizations getting involved in the Georgia races will mostly be focusing on boosting turnout and targeting specific segments of gun owners.
While pro-gun forces are outspending their anti-gun rivals, they should not get complacent. Every vote will count in Georgia due to the heated nature of these runoff races. It would behoove activists to focus on as much in-person outreach with reliable voters and gun owners to make sure that they show up to the polls.
The best chance Democrats have of passing gun control in the Biden era is by picking up these two seats, which would give them a majority by virtue of Vice President Kamala Harris being the tie-breaking vote. Georgia voters can spare America this fate by rejecting Ossoff and Warnock at the polls on January 5.
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