Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund has hopes of turning Iowa into a staging ground for gun control.
The group is pledging to spend at least $1 million to make the Iowa House of Representatives go blue this election cycle.
Republicans and Democrats are vying for control of the Iowa State House this election cycle. Currently, Republicans hold 53-47 majority in the House. Republicans have controlled all branches of the Iowa state government since 2016.
Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund is focusing on 15 state House races in the suburban areas of Iowa’s largest cities. This group is the political branch for Everytown for Gun Safety, nationwide gun control organization co-founded by former New York City Mayor and failed presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg.
Big money is being dropped in Iowa this election cycle. $80 million has been raised or spent in Iowa’ Senate race, where Democrat Theresa Greenfield is facing off against Republican Senator Joni Ernst. The $1 million being dropped at state level could go a long way because there are fewer voters to reach out to and races don’t cost as much to run.
Everytown’s spending this election cycle is considerably higher than in previous cycles. According to campaign finance reports, the organization spent around $124,000 in 2016 in opposition to former Republican State Representative Ken Rizer. The group wasn’t really active in Iowa politics until the present cycle.
Other anti-gun groups such as Moms Demand Action have been running weekly phone banks in Iowa to call prospective voters and inform potential voters about candidates’ track records on gun legislation.
Erica Fletcher, a volunteer leader with Moms Demand Action, stated that despite being compelled to organize virtually due to the Wuhan virus pandemic, the group has not stopped its organization efforts.
“We had the platform and the infrastructure there that we didn’t even skip a beat,” she commented.
The gun grabbers getting involved in Iowa will face resistance, however.
Richard Rogers, a board member of the Iowa Firearms Coalition, said that his organization will have significant resources and expects to be heavily involved in state level races.
“We think it’s important to maintain pro-Second Amendment conservative majorities in the House and Senate,” he declared.
Various outside groups such as the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee have spent more than $200,000 in Iowa at the moment in the 2020 election cycle. DLCC President Jessica Post believes that the state is competitive across the board in Iowa during the 2020 election cycle.
“In 2018, we flipped five seats red to blue and fell short of a majority in the Iowa House by just over 500 votes. This year, we’re only four seats away from flipping the chamber. Suburban districts in the state have been trending blue for years and top Republicans retired in droves, leaving critical competitive seats vacant. The high turnout in the primary shows just how energized Democrats in the state are,” Post observed in a statement.
Gun grabbers are serious this election cycle which will require liberty conservatives to step up to the plate and defend their home turf. Local and state battles should receive the same amount attention as federal races from liberty conservatives.
These lower level races are where political machines are created.
