Leading Gun-Control Group Abandons $60 Million Spending Pledge

The nation's top gun-control group is falling far short of its 2020 election spending pledge with less than two weeks to go before Nov. 3.

Despite promising to spend $60 million in 2020, Everytown for Gun Safety—founded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg and backed primarily by wealthy donors—has spent less than $26 million, according to Federal Election Commission records. Even with the cash on hand reported by the group in its latest filing, it will only be able to spend less than half of its goal without a massive cash injection before the election.

The latest filing for Everytown's super PAC, which has done nearly all of the group's political spending in 2020, shows the group had just over $4.6 million remaining in the bank on Oct. 15. It brought in just over $1 million—with over 85 percent coming from large donors—in September. However, even if the group repeated its best 2020 performance when it brought in a $7 million donation from former Microsoft CEO and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer in April, it would still be tens of millions of dollars short of its pledge.

When the group has bought advertising it has shied away from gun control. In ads targeting swing-state Republicans, the group has focused on issues like health care and energy production. The downturn in spending coupled with the messaging shift could signal that liberal donors and strategists believe gun control is not a winning 2020 issue—especially with recent record gun sales and a rush of new gun owners across the country.