Virginia – -(AmmoLand.com)- Anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety will reportedly spend more than $1.8 million in an effort to help elect Democrat Terry McAuliffe as governor, for the second time in Virginia and retain a Democrat majority in the House of Delegates, according to CNN.
Old Dominion governors cannot serve consecutive terms. McAuliffe, an ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton, last held the governor’s job from 2014 to 2018. He was succeeded by the current Gov. Ralph Northam. Both are devoted anti-gunners, and under Northam in 2020, Democrats took control of the legislature and passed several gun control laws, igniting a statewide movement resulting in the rise of dozens of “Second Amendment Sanctuary” jurisdictions.
CNN is reporting that McAuliffe “already has sought to make guns an issue in the race. A recent McAuliffe television ad featured law enforcement officials in the state, who linked gun control to public safety.”
The news agency is reporting that Everytown will spend $500,000 “to support a dozen Democrats running for the House of Delegates.” Another $300,000 is being spent to help Hala Ayala win the office of Lieutenant Governor and Mark Herring win a third term as attorney general in the Commonwealth.
McAuliffe is up against Republican Glenn Youngkin, in what appears to be his first bid for public office.
As reported by WAVY in Richmond, a new 8 News/Emerson College statewide poll says the race for governor is “neck-and-neck.” McAuliffe appears to have 49 percent support of likely voters, while Youngkin comes in at 45 percent, with a plus/minus margin of error at 3.4 percent.
At his website, Youngkin posted this message: “I’m not a politician. I’m a homegrown Virginian and I’ve spent the last 30 years raising my family, serving in our church, building business,es and creating jobs. I’m guided by my faith, values, and an unshakeable belief that Virginia should be the best.”
He is a wealthy businessman who has reportedly invested more than $5 million of his own money into the campaign. According to NPR, Youngkin has “pitched himself as a pro-life and pro-gun Christian.” Perhaps not surprisingly, NPR noted Susan Swecker, chair of the Virginia Democratic Party, has described Youngkin as a “far-right extremist who has demonstrated total allegiance to Donald Trump.”
Democrats—as witnessed during the California gubernatorial recall effort—are running on a platform of demonizing opponents as extremist Trump supporters.
McAuliffe, on the other hand, is a native of New York State and has been in politics for decades.
While McAuliffe earned an “F” grade from the National Rifle Association, Youngkin got a “?” apparently because he did not return a candidate questionnaire.
But perhaps to underscore how worried Democrats are about this election, CNN reported that Shannon Watts, founder of the Everytown subsidiary Moms Demand Action, will campaign in Virginia with McAuliffe. John Feinblatt, Everytown president, said the billionaire-backed group will be running television and digital advertising.
This fall’s election will be an opportunity for Virginia gun owners to demonstrate whether they are determined to take back the state or if last year’s fury that brought more than 20,000 people to the Richmond capitol was flash over substance. Virginia holds its statewide elections in off-years.
How this election turns out could be a signal about the mid-term elections in November 2022 when embattled gun owners hope to take Congress away from Democrats and turn Joe Biden into a lame-duck heading into 2024. Northern Virginia is the key. It has a strong Democrat voter base and they can be expected to turn out at the polls. Old Dominion gun owners have about six weeks to organize a formidable voter turnout.
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
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