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Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund announced Thursday that they are launching a $500,000 ad campaign in eight House of Delegates races to protect “Virginia’s gun sense trifecta.”
Everytown for Gun Safety is a Gun Violence Prevention organization that includes the volunteer network Moms Demand Action. They have previously stated they plan to spend more than $1.8 million in total on Virginia elections this year.
The ads will target: Roxann Robinson in HD-27, Steve Pleickhardt in HD-50, Tim Cox in HD-51, Kim Taylor in HD-63, Christopher Holmes in HD-72, Mary Margaret Kastelberg in HD-73, Tim Anderson in HD-83, and Karen Greenhalgh in HD-85. The group has endorsed the Democratic candidates in each of those races.
“The people of Virginia sent a gun sense majority to the statehouse because they wanted long overdue laws to keep their families safe from gun violence — and that’s exactly what they got,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown.
The Democrats took the majority in the General Assembly in 2019 which led to them passing several pieces of legislation aimed at curbing gun violence in the commonwealth. Universal background checks, red-flag laws, a requirement to report lost or stolen guns, and reinstating the law allowing only one handgun purchase a month are some of the laws Democrats passed into law.
“Everytown is going all out this year to make sure voters know which lawmakers are going to build on this progress, and which ones want to roll it all back, putting the lives of Virginians at risk,” Feinblatt said.
According to the announcement, hundreds of thousands of pieces of direct mail will be sent to voters. On the digital side, static ads, along with 30 and 15-second videos will run on Youtube pre-roll, Facebook, Instagram, and as banners. They will focus on persuasion and mobilization targets across the districts, including women and low-propensity voters, according to the announcement.
“When Republicans put forward a proven solution for gun violence that didn’t involve gun control, Project Ceasefire, House Democrats voted to kill it for two years in a row,” said Garren Shipley, a spokesperson for the Republican House caucus. “How many lives could have been saved had Democrats just listened to the evidence?”
All 100 House seats are up for reelection this year along with the governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general.
Election day is Nov. 2.
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