Guns, once a third rail, become a key issue for Democrats
Races across the U.S. see candidates calling for weapons reform
PHILADELPHIA — Two years ago, when Democrat Chrissy Houlahan began running for Congress, people told the military veteran and former high school teacher to stay away from one topic: gun control.
“There was a caution to me … that it wasn’t a quote-unquote winning issue,” she recalled.
But she ignored the advice. And since she announced her candidacy, a rash of mass shootings, including the one in February in Parkland, Fla., have rocked the country. Supporting major gun control policies, she has been endorsed by gun safety groups and is favored to win a newly redrawn seat that in its last configuration has been long held by Republicans.
The shift Houlahan noticed in the 6th District — suddenly there was “permission to talk” about gun issues, she said — is one that activists say is echoed nationwide. Gun control, once considered a third rail in American politics, has emerged as a prominent issue in races across the country, particularly in several key congressional districts.
The prospects for passing gun control bills in Congress would improve immensely if Democrats capture the 23 seats they need to flip the House — which some polls suggest they might do — and gun control platforms might improve their prospects.
For many Republicans, gun rights remain a strong issue but a lower-profile one this time than in elections past. The National Rifle Association has spent more than $6 million so far, according to public records — significantly less than its double-digit spends in past elections and less than the $20 million shelled out for the midterms by Everytown for Gun Safety.
Mobilizing voters
The latest Gallup Poll showed that more than 60 percent of Americans favor stricter gun control. It’s “one of the most defining issues for Democrats running for Congress and to retake the House this cycle,” said Peter Ambler, executive director of the Giffords organization.
A poll conducted for Giffords said that in some races, talking about gun control helped Democrats increase their leads. And both the Brady Campaign and CeaseFire PA said more candidates than ever have sought their endorsements this cycle.
Across the country, Democrats have intensified their efforts to embrace an issue that was once taboo. They have aired substantially more ads mentioning guns than Republicans, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis, indicating the party is banking on the issue to mobilize voters.
“There’s no question 2018 is stacking up as the year candidates are running on gun safety in order to win elections,” said John Feinblatt, executive director of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Candidates know that this is mobilizing voters.”
Breaking ranks
In addition to spending, other signs point to gun control being the louder side this year: The NRA removed its long-noted archive of candidate grades from its website. Houlahan’s opponent, Greg McCauley (who supports several of the gun control measures Houlahan does while also supporting concealed carry reciprocity and opposing an assault weapons ban), took a progun section off his webpage early in the campaign. In 2014 and 2016, more gun rights advertisements appeared than gun control ads; now, that trend has reversed, according to a USA Today data analysis.
And a few Republicans, including Pennsylvania’s Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who has been endorsed by the three major gun control groups, are breaking ranks on the issue — something advocates say is also a sign of change.
“You are seeing more candidates at the margin like Fitzpatrick who will come out and be champions of the cause,” said Kris Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “I think this election cycle is a proof point that more will be doing that in the future.”
Many credit the activism by Parkland students for being the catalyst needed to cement gun control as a voter priority. Classmates of the 17 people killed have spoken out, encouraged young people to vote and kept the issue in the news, advocates say, bolstering the work they began after the December 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
“We’ll know by Nov. 7 whether it really has changed or not,” Brown said, “and I think we’ll wake up and find that it has.”