Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund Endorses 26 Candidates for Minnesota State House and Senate
8.13.2020
Candidates Endorsed Today are Proven Gun Sense Champions Who Will Fight for Common-Sense Gun Safety Measures in Minnesota
NEW YORK – Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund endorsed a slate of gun sense champions who will fight for gun safety in the Minnesota state legislature. Each of these candidates received the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate Distinction, a prerequisite for being considered for endorsement.
“This year, Republicans in the Minnesota Senate chose to ignore a bill to keep guns away from people who pose a clear danger to themselves or others for the second year in a row, even though this common-sense policy is supported by Minnesotans five-to-one,” 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 Senate and send a gun sense majority to St. Paul.”
“We’re thrilled to endorse this incredible list of candidates who have proven they will be the gun sense champions that Minnesota is demanding,” said Jessica DeWeerth, a volunteer leader with the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action. “We worked hard to elect a gun sense majority in the House in 2018 and they didn’t let us down. Senate Republicans, on the other hand, continue to ignore Minnesotans and block gun safety so we’re putting our grassroots power to work to elect these gun sense candidates, protect the House majority, and flip the Senate.”
The Democratic-led Minnesota state House passed background check and red flag legislation for the second year in a row, but Republicans who control the Senate refused to take them up, gaveling out without any action. Republicans currently hold a two-seat majority in the Minnesota state Senate. Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund recently announced that it will spend at least $1 million between now and November 3 to flip the Minnesota state Senate to a gun sense majority and defend the gun sense majority in the Minnesota state House.
State House endorsements include:
- Representative Kelly Morrison, HD-33B
- Representative Kristin Bahner, HD-34B
- Representative Zack Stephenson, HD-36A
- Representative Kelly Moller, HD-42A
- Representative Ginny Klevorn, HD-44A
- Representative Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn, HD-48B
- Representative Ruth Richardson, HD-52B
- Representative Steve Sandell, HD-53B
- Representative Anne Claflin, HD-54A
- Representative John Huot, HD-57B
- Erin Preese, HD-58A
State Senate endorsements include:
- State Senator Ron Latz, SD-46
- State Senator Steve Cwodzinski, SD-48
- State Senator Susan Kent, SD-53
- State Senator Karla Bigham, SD-54
- State Senator Matt Little, SD-58
- State Senator Kari Dziedzic, SD-60
- State Senator Sandy Pappas, SD-65
- Aric Putnam, SD-14
- Sara Flick, SD-25
- Aleta Borrud, SD-26
- Bonnie Westlin, SD-34
- Justin Stofferahn, SD-38
- Josiah Hill, SD-39
- Ann Johnson Stewart, SD-44
- Lindsey Port, SD-56
In February, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund conducted polling in Minnesota, which found that Minnesotans support stronger gun laws by a 5:1 margin, and 74% 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.