A top gun-control group is focusing its spending on just two incumbent House members a week out from the 2022 midterm elections.
Brady PAC spent tens of thousands of dollars on mailers and digital ads for two Democrats on Friday, according to the most recent Federal Election Commission filings. Brady is boosting Reps. Steven Horsford of Nevada’s 4th district and Lucy McBath of Georgia’s 6th district.
The filings show the hybrid PAC paid $12,664 for digital ads and mailers in support of Representative Horsford. The group spent $6,336 on digital ads and mailers in support of McBath during the same period. It has now spent nearly $40,000 to boost Horsford and just over $20,000 for McBath.
The last-minute filings provide insight into the election priorities of one of the three primary gun-control groups in U.S. politics. It comes after Everytown for Gun Safety dropped millions in a variety of races, and the NRA made a $1.1 million ad buy in key Senate races.
Rep. McBath rose to political prominence on the issue of gun control. Following her son’s murder in 2012, McBath worked as a spokesperson for Moms Demand Action advocating for stricter gun laws. She ultimately ran for Congress in 2018 and successfully unseated an incumbent Republican.
McBath’s campaign website touts her work to help pass gun-control legislation during her tenure in the House over the last four years. Her campaign website also features an issues section dedicated to “gun safety,” which states that McBath “refuses to stop fighting until the threat of gun violence no longer permeates our communities.”
“She is proud to have worked on numerous pieces of legislation which have been passed through the House, including universal background checks for all gun sales and Red Flag Laws to limit access to firearms for those who are potentially dangerous,” the site reads.
The section does not mention her vote in favor of the first “assault weapons” ban to pass a chamber of Congress in nearly three decades, though.
Horsford’s campaign website does not make any specific reference to gun policy or gun control, though it touts his support for community-based prevention programs to address gun violence. However, his website features endorsements from prominent gun control groups Brady, Giffords, and Everytown subsidiary Moms Demand Action.
Neither candidate nor Brady PAC responded to a request for comment on the ads.
As the election nears, the spending battle between the gun groups is heating up. Everytown for Gun Safety’s Super PAC has been pouring millions into federal and state races across the country, including some that don’t deal directly with gun policy. The National Rifle Association’s Super PAC has consistently funneled most of its spending into the Senate races in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona.
Brady PAC has had fewer resources to work with than its counterparts on both sides of the issue. It has raised just $3.3 million compared to $18 million for Everytown’s Super PAC and over $12 million for the Giffords PAC. The NRA has raised nearly $25 million between its PAC and Super PAC. The gun-rights group still has over $9 million cash on hand, far exceeding what the gun-control groups have remaining in their coffers.
