The leading gun-control groups maintained their political fundraising advantage over their gun-rights opponents, according to the final monthly data drop before the 2024 election.
The Political Action Committees (PACs) for Everytown, Giffords, and Brady collectively brought in just under $1.7 million in September, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings posted this week. Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund raised just under $700,000 for the month. In total, all of the gun-rights PACs that publish monthly FEC updates took in a little under $1.26 million.
Though closer to parity than in August, September’s fundraising totals mark yet another month that the major national gun-control groups have outraised the NRA and its allies heading into November’s high-stakes election, something they have done in all but one month this year. Barring a momentous swing in fortunes in October, that suggests that the gun-control groups will, for the first time, eclipse the NRA in fundraising and spending in a presidential election cycle.
That fundraising disparity has been reflected in the two sides’ major election spending announcements in the home stretch of the election cycle. The gun-control groups, spearheaded by Everytown and Giffords, have announced a spree of new election spending in recent weeks in races up and down the ballot and across the country. The NRA, meanwhile, has reserved its high-dollar ad buys to just a small handful of key races in states like Montana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Cumulatively, the NRA has raised $4,883,131.42 through its PAC and super PAC over the first three quarters of 2024, according to the FEC data. By comparison, Everytown for Gun Safety’s super PAC alone has raised $7,015,346.82 year-to-date. Collectively, the gun-control groups have raised $12,568,583.64 over the first nine months of 2024.
Everytown again bested all other gun groups in monthly fundraising in September. Its super PAC reported raising $799,571.40, while the group’s PAC brought in an additional $38,786.48. Giffords PAC boasted its own $601,273.56 September haul, and Brady PAC rounded out the big three with a $241,022.31 month—its best by far of the cycle. Separately, Everytown’s Demand a Seat PAC also filed its latest quarterly report. The PAC reported raising an additional $84,162.70 between July 1 and September 30.
The NRA’s $695,809.66 September total was up substantially from its August figures, but its performance remains severely diminished compared to past presidential election cycles. In September 2020, the group’s Political Victory Fund brought in $1,368,954.53; in September 2016, it raised $1,113,362.28. Additionally, the NRA’s super PAC continues to be a non-factor. The NRA Victory Fund reported bringing in just $400 in September for the sixth straight month. By contrast, the NRA Victory Fund brought in $4,526,909.63 in September 2020.
That diminished fundraising performance comes amidst signs that the group’s political influence could be waning. The group has handed out fewer “A” grade endorsements to House and Senate candidates for the seventh straight election cycle, according to a New York Times analysis. In contrast, the number of candidates running with “F” ratings has continued to increase. Perhaps more troubling for the NRA, the number of Republican candidates who received question-mark ratings from the group because they didn’t respond to its candidate questionnaire—once seen as essential for GOP hopefuls—now make up nearly a third of all candidates, suggesting fewer conservatives now see the group’s support as necessary.
Despite its failure to come close to its performance in past cycles, the NRA again led the pack in political fundraising among gun-rights groups. The super PAC for Gun Owners of America raised $532,666.43 in September, bolstered primarily by a $500,000 transfer from the group’s 501(c)(4) arm, while its PAC raised an additional $523. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) PAC brought in $28,274.91. The National Association for Gun Rights PAC raised just $412.50 for the month.
The NSSF’s Protect Liberty PAC, which only files quarterly, also reported raising $178,658.67 between July and September. Likewise, the United States Concealed Carry Association’s PAC brought in $245,583.60 over the same period.
