Here’s who is getting campaign money from gun rights and gun control advocates
Reps. Tom McClintock and David Valadao each received $1,000 from the political action committee of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones got $5,000 from the Gun Owners of America’s political committee.
Gun control advocates gave to their favorite candidates, too, notably Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif. And Reps. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, Josh Harder, D-Turlock, and Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena.
Open Secrets, a nonpartisan research group, provided details of the contributions. None of this money, though, is expected to be a huge factor in swinging their elections.
“My guess is that the lion’s share of the electorate is immovable, practically speaking, on gun rights,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan organization that follows House races..
With the country reeling from a recent series of horrific mass shootings — including 19 children and two teachers killed in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 and 10 people at a Buffalo grocery store on May 14 — tightening America’s gun laws was the front-and-center topic this week at the Capitol and the White House.
The House voted Wednesday on a series of Democratic-authored proposals likely to win approval there. Senate negotiators are trying to get a deal on gun safety legislation.
Prospects for major gun control legislation are iffy at best, since 60 votes are needed in the Senate to move ahead and Republicans, most of whom are wary of gun legislation, control 50 seats.
None of that is stopping powerful gun rights and gun lobby groups from being players in elections in California and around the country.
Gun-friendly districts
Gun policy was the first topic discussed in the May 31 Third District congressional debate.
That race is one of California’s most tightly contested primaries. Jones was vying with Rocklin Assemblyman Kevin Kiley and Democratic physician Kermit Jones. Kiley and Kermit Jones were the top two vote-getters will compete in the November general election.
The district, redrawn after the 2020 census, goes from Plumas County, through the Sacramento suburbs and down to Inyo County. It is regarded by the Sabato group as likely Republican — meaning that the party has a clear advantage but that an upset is possible under certain conditions.
Much of the district, which had been represented by McClintock, now has no incumbent. He’s running in the Fifth District, where he’s a strong favorite.
“Those districts are very gun friendly,” said California Republican consultant Matt Rexroad of the Third and Fifth.
Scott Jones, who campaigned as a tough-on-crime candidate, received $5,000 from Gun Owners of America Political Action Committee. The group, founded in 1976 to champion the rights of gun owners, bills itself as the “no compromise” gun lobby.
“Gun Owners of America strives to endorse only the most pro-Second Amendment candidates in any race — especially proven leaders on the 2A issue. GOA believes that all gun control is unconstitutional, and we only back candidates who support that shared vision,” said John Velleco, Executive GOA vice president.
McClintock received $1,000 from the National Shooting Sports Foundation political action committee. NSSF is the firearms industry trade association
“NSSF makes donations based on the interests of the firearm industry. We are a trade association, just like any other. We represent the interests of our members,” said Mark Oliva, organization spokesman.
Valadao, a Republican, is seen as having a tough re-election race. He was trailing Democratic Bakersfield Assemblyman Rudy Salas in Tuesday’s primary.
Congress and guns
McClintock, also a Republican, is a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, which last week wrote gun safety legislation.
McClintock made it clear he has little sympathy for the Democratic-driven initiatives.
“We have more than 50 years of experience with these laws. They are actually effective at disarming law-abiding citizens, as they were that tragic day in Uvalde,” he said.
Such laws, he said, “create an environment where the gunman is king.” Among his ideas is to have armed protection at schools.
On the side of gun control, Padilla has received $5,000 from the Brady PAC and $3,500 from the Giffords PAC. The groups are named respectively for former Reagan White House Press Secretary Jim Brady, who was shot during an assassination attempt on Reagan, and Giffords, an Arizona congresswoman who survived a mass shooting in 2011.
The Giffords PAC endorsed Padilla, calling him “a prominent voice on the issue of gun violence prevention.”
Giffords gave an endorsement and $1,833 to Harder, who is running in the newly-drawn 9th district. It contributed $2,000 to Thompson and $1,000 to Carbajal. Thompson also received $1,000 from the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund.
This story has been updated.
This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Here’s who is getting campaign money from gun rights and gun control advocates."
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