Everytown to Invest at Least $8 Million in “Gun Sense Majority: Texas” Electoral Initiative, Mobilize Grassroots Army to Elect Gun Sense Candidates Up and Down the Ballot

New Polling Shows Texas Voters Support Stronger Gun Laws by 5:1; 78% Consider a Candidate’s Position on Guns “Very Important” in 2020; and Majorities View a Candidate’s Opposition to Background Checks on all Gun Sales as Disqualifying

Last month, Everytown Announced Plans to Spend $60 Million on the 2020 Elections — Double What it Spent During the 2018 Elections; In November 2019, Everytown Invested $2.5 Million to Flip the Virginia General Assembly to a Gun Sense Majority 

NEW YORK – Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund and Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund (together “Everytown”)  announced a new political initiative, “Gun Sense Majority: Texas” — an unprecedented financial and grassroots effort that will begin with making important gains in the state House, defending recently elected Texas gun sense champions in the U.S. House, flipping key congressional seats in the suburbs, and growing and educating the voting electorate in order to make Texas competitive at the statewide level. Everytown also released a memo outlining its electoral plans for Texas, and new polling, which demonstrates that gun safety will be a key election issue in Texas.

VIEW A MEMO OUTLINING “GUN SENSE MAJORITY: TEXAS” HERE.

VIEW NEW TEXAS POLLING HERE.

Everytown will invest at least $8 million in Gun Sense Majority: Texas, part of Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund and Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund’s $60 million electoral program for the 2020 elections. Using innovative strategies and harnessing the power 400,000 Everytown, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action supporters in Texas, “Gun Sense Majority: Texas” will serve as one of its signature efforts for the 2020 elections and among the largest state investments ever for Everytown.

“Gun safety has become a top issue for voters — especially in the suburbs — as Texas becomes younger and more diverse, and after years of horrific gun violence and lawmakers who fail to address it,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “That’s why we’ll focus on electing gun sense candidates up and down the ballot in Texas, where a majority of households own guns, because polling proves gun owning and non-gun owning parents alike want their children to keep their kids safe.”

“Texas is emerging as the next major battleground state, and gun safety’s going to be the tipping point,” said Chris Carr, political director for Everytown for Gun Safety. “In 2020, we will deploy our proven electoral strategy of marrying financial investments with the power of our grassroots army on the ground to elect gun sense candidates across Texas.”

“The tide is turning in Texas when it comes to gun safety,” said Hilary Rand Whitfield, volunteer leader with the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action. “I see it in the conversations I have with my neighbors, and I see it in the longtime NRA allies in the legislature who have spoken in favor of stronger gun laws. Texans want their lawmakers — in both Austin and Washington — to make the safety of our families a priority.” 

The new polling, conducted by Global Strategy Group, shows that a majority of Texas voters want to see stronger gun laws; that gun safety is a top-tier issue, particularly in suburban battleground districts; that voters overwhelming support individual gun safety measures; and that opposition to background checks on all gun sales is disqualifying to a majority of voters. A PDF version of the memo is available here. 

• Texas voters support stronger gun laws by a 5:1 margin (51% stronger/9% less strong). And in battleground districts, voters support stronger gun laws by an even larger 54% to 10% margin. 
• Over three-quarters of Texas voters (78% statewide; 86% of battleground voters), including 84% of voters who support stronger gun laws, consider a candidate’s position on guns “very important” to their vote in 2020.
• Vast majorities of voters statewide and in battleground districts — including undecided voters, gun owners, Latino voters and suburban women — support individual gun safety measures, including blocking domestic abusers from having guns (91% statewide; 89% in battleground districts), requiring background checks on all gun sales (87% statewide; 82% in battleground districts), and red flag laws (80% statewide; 77% in battleground districts).
• Sixty percent of voters, including a majority of Republican women (57%) and voters in battleground districts (58%) say they would never vote for a candidate who doesn’t support background checks on all gun sales. Compared with other candidate positions on issues like health care, national security and immigration, opposition to background checks on all gun sales is the single most disqualifying candidate position among suburban women by a nine-point margin, and tied for the top among Latino voters by a three-point margin.

Last month, Everytown announced that it will spend $60 million on the 2020 elections, doubling what it spent during the 2020 elections. In Virginia’s 2019 elections, Everytown was the largest outside investor, spending $2.5 million to flip the state’s General Assembly to a gun sense majority.