The Gun lobby group has fallen on hard times and has dropped out of the mainstream….
Already vulnerable Republicans in swing districts have distanced themselves from the National Rifle Association, downplaying their top ratings that long were a political boon. And the NRA has drastically cut back political spending this cycle, leaving openings for newly energized gun control groups to run emotional ads attacking Republicans over gun violence.
“What you’re witnessing is a sea change in our politics,” said Peter Ambler, executive director of the gun control group founded by former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in 2011.
The sheer number of mass shootings appears to have an “additive affect” over time, Ambler argued, with voters unaffiliated with the NRA caring more about guns.
The NRA’s spending on the midterm elections is less than half its total in 2014, according to an analysis by Bloomberg News. It had just $1.48 million in unrestricted assets at the end of 2017 — down from $65.6 million two years before.
And there is some evidence gun politics is changing in a few key House districts…..