NRA Targets Talarico as Everytown Expands Its Midterm Ad Campaign

Gun-policy groups are putting their late-election priorities on the air. The NRA is targeting Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, while Everytown is adding money to state legislative races where the next round of gun restrictions could be decided.

The Reload reported October 16 that the NRA announced a multimillion-dollar campaign, including its first major advertisement of the cycle. The Texas ad focuses on Talarico’s support for an assault-weapons ban and ammunition magazine capacity limits. The ad shows him being asked about a 2020 video clip of his position that The Reload previously reported. Those are the specific policy questions at the center of the message.

Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund, meanwhile, announced an additional $3 million digital advertising campaign targeting legislative contests in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Reload reports that the campaign promotes Moms Demand Action volunteers running for office and seeks to change control of state legislative chambers.

The two announcements operate on different electoral levels. The NRA’s Texas advertising concerns a U.S. Senate seat and federal legislative power. Everytown’s new spending centers on statehouses, where lawmakers can introduce and pass state firearm restrictions. Gun owners following only Washington would miss a substantial part of the campaign.

The spending figures also need their proper labels. An announced campaign budget is different from money already disclosed as spent. The Reload’s examination of federal filings through October 15 found nearly half a million dollars in NRA spending on the anti-Talarico advertising campaign. That reported expenditure should not be confused with the NRA’s broader multimillion-dollar announcement or Everytown’s separately announced state-level campaign.

For voters, the useful test is what a candidate would support in office: which firearms or magazines a proposal covers, what existing owners would face and which chamber could move the legislation. Follow the advertised claims back to the candidates’ records and the actual proposals. Sign up for the WTF News newsletter for sourced coverage of the decisions affecting gun owners.