Everytown For Gun Safety Endorses First Round of Moms Demand Action Volunteers, Everytown Leaders Running for Office 

NEW YORK — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund endorsed its first round of endorsements of Moms Demand Action volunteers and Everytown leaders running for office across the country. These endorsements, which are Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund’s first of the 2024 election, are a testament to the growing power of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers as candidates for office themselves. 

“These candidates are a testament to the changing political calculus on guns and the growing, formidable electoral power of the gun violence prevention movement,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We’re proud to endorse these Moms Demand Action volunteers and Everytown leaders who already have built a strong track record of fighting hard to keep their neighbors safe and are now making the leap from advocating for laws to writing them.”

“We have proven the success of our volunteer-to-candidate pipeline, and we’re so excited to see more advocates from our movement take the leap to run for office,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. “Voters want elected officials who understand the depth of our gun violence crisis and will take action for the safety of their communities. These incredible volunteers and leaders are stepping up to be the person on their ballots that will do just that.” 

The full list of candidates endorsed today and the office they are running for is available below:

• Arkansas
  • Kate Schaffer, Arkansas State House, District 10
  • Denise Garner, Arkansas State House, District 20
  • Nicole Clowney, Arkansas State House, District 21
  • Denise Ennett, Arkansas State House, District 80

• California
  • Sam Liccardo, US Representative, CA-16
  • George Whitesides, US Representative, CA-27
  • Marisol Rubio, California State Senate, District 09
  • Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, California State Assembly, District 16
  • Catherine Stefani, California State Assembly, District 19
  • Pilar Schiavo, California State Assembly, District 40
  • Darshana Patel, California State Assembly, District 76
  • Linda Deos, Davis City Council, District 2
  • Jett Black-Maertz, Santa Barbara City Council, District 1

• Florida
  • Gay Valimont, US Representative, FL-01

• Georgia
  • Lucy McBath, US Representative, GA-06

• Illinois
  • Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, Illinois State House, District 17
  • Marti Deuter, Illinois State House, District 45
  • Jackie Williamson, Illinois State House, District 47
  • Maura Hirschauer, Illinois State House, District 49
  • Nabeela Syed, Illinois State House, District 51
  • Maria Peterson, Illinois State House, District 52
  • Mary Beth Canty, Illinois State House, District 54
  • Tracy Katz Muhl, Illinois State House, District 57
  • Bob Morgan, Illinois State House, District 58
  • Joyce Mason, Illinois State House, District 61
  • Laura Dias, Illinois State House, District 62
  • Heidi Henry, Illinois State House, District 75
  • Anne Stava-Murray, Illinois State House, District 81
  • Valerie Simutis, Local School Council Member Chicago Public Schools
  • Sara Knizhnik, Lake County Board, District 18
  • Jennifer Merritt, Sangamon County Board, District 25

• Iowa
  • Christina Bohannan, US Representative, IA-01

• Michigan
  • Emily Busch, US Representative, MI-10

• Mississippi
  • Shirley Meeks, Sunflower County Election Commissioner, District 5

• North Carolina
  • Natasha Marcus, Insurance Commissioner
  • Claire Kempner, North Carolina State House, District 09
  • Allison Dahle, North Carolina State House, District 11
  • Maria Cervania, North Carolina State House, District 41
  • Beth Helfrich, North Carolina State House, District 98

• Ohio
  • Allison Russo, Ohio State House, District 07
  • Crystal Lett, Ohio State House, District 11
  • Jessica Miranda, Ohio State House, District 28
  • Erika White, Ohio State House, District 41
  • Rachael Morocco, Ohio State House, District 60
  • Mark Gooch, Ohio State House, District 77

• Oregon
  • Maxine Dexter, US Representative, OR-03

• Texas
  • Rhonda Hart, US Representative, TX-14
  • Suleman Lalani, Texas State House, District 76
  • Denise Wilkerson, Texas State House, District 94
  • Chase West, Texas State House, District 132

• Virginia
  • Missy Cotter Smasal, US Representative, VA-02

Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund launched “Demand a Seat,” a program to train grassroots volunteers and gun violence survivors to take the next step in their advocacy efforts by running for office and working on campaigns to elect gun sense candidates in 2021. Since 2017, hundreds of Moms Demand Action volunteer leaders have run for elected office and dozens have won seats – from town council and school board to U.S. Congress. In 2023, 162 volunteers ran for office and 96 won their races. More information on Demand a Seat can be found here.