Candidates Endorsed Today are Proven Gun Sense Champions Who Will Fight for Common-Sense Gun Safety Measures in Iowa
NEW YORK – Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund endorsed a slate of gun sense champions who will fight for gun safety in the Iowa state legislature. Each of these candidates received the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate Distinction, a prerequisite for being considered for endorsement.
“In a move they will come to regret for both policy and political reasons, Republicans in the Iowa legislature chose to weaken gun laws this year, even though polls show that Iowans favor stronger laws by a three-to-one margin,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “In November, the choice will lie with voters, and Everytown is going all-out to help them flip the House and send a gun sense majority to Des Moines.”
“We are thrilled to endorse so many gun sense candidates running for state legislature this year,” said Katie Albrecht, a volunteer leader with the Iowa chapter of Moms Demand Action. “For too long, Iowa lawmakers have ignored our demands for action to end gun violence. Instead they’ve taken us backwards, so now we’re putting our grassroots power to work to elect gun sense candidates who will put our safety first.”
This year’s legislative session marked yet another year of inaction on gun violence when lawmakers instead passed dangerous legislation that weakens existing gun safety laws. Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund recently announced that it will spend at least $1 million between now and November 3 to flip the Iowa state House to a gun sense majority. Republicans currently hold a 4-seat majority in the Iowa state House.
State House endorsements include:
- Representative Steve Hansen, HD-14
- Representative Heather Matson, HD-38
- Representative Karin Derry, HD-39
- Representative Kristin Sunde, HD-42
- Representative Jennifer Konfrst, HD-43
- Representative Molly Donahue, HD-68
- Charles Clayton, HD-09
- Jennifer Pellant, HD-16
- Andrea Phillips, HD-37
- Eric Gjerde, HD-67
- Sue Cahill, HD-71
- Phil Miller, HD-82
- Jennifer Kakert, HD-92
- Marie Gleason, HD-94
- Christian Andrews, HD-95
- Ryan Zeskey, HD-97
State Senate endorsements include:
- Sarah Trone Garriott, SD-22
In February, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund conducted polling in Iowa, which found that Iowans support stronger gun laws by a 3:1 margin, and 75% of voters consider a candidate’s position on guns “very important” to their vote in 2020. National polling released in June found that the intensity of Americans’ support for common-sense gun safety measures had surged during the coronavirus pandemic, with a significant majority of Americans viewing background checks on all gun sales and disarming domestic abusers “more important” now than before the pandemic began.
Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Victory Fund plan to spend $60 million on the 2020 elections — double what they spent during the 2018 elections, and more than any gun safety opponent, including the NRA, reported spending on the 2016 elections.
