The country’s largest gun rights group continues to fall behind its ideological opponents in political fundraising in 2024, new federal records show.
The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (PVF), the group’s political action committee, raised just under $660,000 in March, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. The group’s super PAC raised an additional $25,000 last month. Meanwhile, the political fundraising arms of the country’s three major gun control groups together raised more than $880,000 over the same 30 days.
The latest FEC filings reveal back-to-back months in which the NRA’s ability to raise money has lagged behind its political counterparts. This comes as the group’s future remains under a cloud of uncertainty created by its ongoing legal case with the state of New York, where a jury found the organization mismanaged its donor’s funds in a February verdict. The group has also experienced a substantial loss in paid memberships over the past several years, owing in large part to the corruption scandal at issue in its New York case.
Its recent inability to outraise and outspend gun-control groups could take on new significance heading into a Presidential election season featuring a matchup between the NRA-backed former President and an incumbent President that has prioritized gun control more than any other in recent history.
The NRA did not respond to a request for comment on its fundraising efforts. It received exactly $657,069.95 through its PAC last month. Additionally, its super PAC, the NRA Victory Fund, brought in another $25,685 for a March total of $682,754.95.
By contrast, Giffords PAC raised $475,145.01 in March, the largest monthly haul on the gun control side. Everytown for Gun Safety’s Victory Fund raised $341,797.56, while its second PAC brought in $27,995.50. Brady PAC rounded out the big three with $35,397.17 raised in March, for a total of $880,335.24.
The NRA increased fundraising by nearly $190,000 from its February haul, but it still lagged well behind its recent performances in presidential election years. The group’s PAC alone raised $1,111,407.58 in March 2020 and $1,487,592.05 in March 2016. It spent more in those years, too.
The NRA’s PVF spent just over $100,000 through the first three months of 2024, compared with more than $113,000 in 2020 and $859,162.36 in 2016 over the same period.
The gun-control groups also far outspent the NRA through the first quarter of 2024. Everytown spent more than $975,000 through its two political arms, while Brady PAC spent $146,213.30, and Giffords PAC spent $918,814.41—totaling more than $2 million in political and operational spending over the first three months of the year.
However, the NRA did retain its advantage over the gun-control groups in terms of remaining available funds. By the end of March, the NRA PVF reported $12,471,625.58 in cash on hand, with another $193,517.32 available to its super PAC. The gun-control groups had a combined $10,596,018.60 in remaining funds by the end of the first quarter.
While the NRA has started to lag behind gun-control groups’ fundraising totals, other gun-rights groups have lagged further still.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s PAC brought in $89,917.15 in March and reported $210,710.96 in cash on hand. The National Association for Gun Rights PAC received $90,531.96 and retained $100,875.20 on hand. Meanwhile, Gun Owners of America’s PAC raised just $588 in March and has $10,550.57 in remaining funds.
Two other gun-rights political operations, the super PACs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the United States Concealed Carry Association, only filed quarterly reports with the FEC. The United States Concealed Carry Association For Saving Lives reported raising $302,534.97 through the first three months of 2024. At the beginning of April, it had $242,243.22 left to spend. The NSSF’s Protect Liberty PAC brought in $63,239.80 during that time and has $42,493.94 remaining.
Those groups raised $181,037.11 in March. Despite the NRA’s diminished capacity, none of the pro-gun alternatives matches its March haul. Similarly, the gun-rights movement’s combined total of $863,792.06 couldn’t match that of the gun-control movement’s $880,335.24 payday.
