Contributions are Part of Unprecedented $2.5 Million Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund Effort to Elect Gun Sense Majority in Virginia General Assembly
Everytown, Moms Demand Action Will Also Unleash Grassroots Army to Elect Endorsed Candidates During Grassroots Weekends of Action on Sept. 21-22 and Oct. 19-20
NEW YORK — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund announced that it has endorsed 25 candidates for elected office in Virginia’s 2019 elections. Included in the 25 endorsements are candidates running in 22 of the most competitive districts in the Commonwealth, and three Moms Demand Action volunteers: Laura Jane Cohen running for Fairfax County School Board, Michael Hammond running for Fauquier County School Board and David Zilles running for state representative in House District 23. As part of its $2.5 million effort to elect a gun sense majority in Virginia’s General Assembly — Everytown’s most robust commitment ever in the Commonwealth — Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund also announced that it is contributing $125,000 to the Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus, $100,000 to the Virginia House Democratic Caucus, $100,000 to Take the Majority (Democratic Party of Virginia), and making $113,000 in direct contributions to candidates running for the Virginia General Assembly.
Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown, will unleash its grassroots army to elect endorsed candidates during two Grassroots Weekends of Action, which will take place on September 21-22 and October 19-20.
“The mass shooting in Virginia Beach should have spurred state lawmakers to take action to protect Commonwealth families — but the Republican-led General Assembly decided to protect the gun lobby instead,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Everytown is going all-in on the November elections, when Virginia voters will finally have a chance to hold gun lobby lawmakers accountable for their choices.”
A complete list of Virginia endorsed candidates can be found at https://gunsensevoter.org/endorsed-2019, and is also listed below:
Wendy Gooditis for House District 10
Danica Roem for House District 13
Kelly Fowler for House District 21
David Zilles for House District 23
Larry Barnett for House District 27
Joshua Cole for House District 28
Elizabeth Guzman for House District 31
Dan Helmer for House District 40
Hala Ayala for House District 51
Sheila Bynum-Coleman for House District 66
Clint Jenkins for House District 76
Rodney Willett for House District 73
Len Myers for House District 81
Nancy Guy for House District 83
Karen Mallard for House District 84
Alex Askew for House District 85
Martha Mugler for House District 91
Shelly Simonds for House District 94
Cheryl Turpin for Senate District 7
Missy Cotter Smasal for Senate District 8
Ghazala Hashmi for Senate District 10
Debra Rodman for Senate District 12
John Bell for Senate District 13
Laura Jane Cohen for Fairfax County School Board
Michael Hammond for Fauquier County School Board
Last month, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund launched $135,000 in digital ads in 14 Republican-held Virginia state-House and Senate districts. The ads are appearing in four Senate Districts and 10 House Districts spanning the Northern Virginia, Richmond suburbs and Hampton Roads regions, including: SD-07; SD-10; SD-12; SD-13; HD-27; HD-28; HD-40; HD-66; HD-76; HD-81; HD-83; HD-84; HD-91; and HD-94.
Everytown has also unveiled results of a Battleground Message poll it conducted, which found that Republicans’ opposition to Red Flag legislation is the single most resonant message among voters in swing districts in Virginia’s 2019 elections. The survey also found that Republican legislators voting to adjourn the July 2019 special session without passing gun safety legislation made voters more likely to vote Democratic, and that large majorities of likely voters in the Richmond Suburbs (87 percent), Hampton Roads (83 percent), and Northern Virginia (82 percent) believe that a candidate’s position on guns is important to their voting decision.