A national organization devoted to stricter gun-control laws endorsed U.S. Rep. Jason Crow’s re-election campaign on Thursday, calling the Democrat a fighter for the group’s agenda.
Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund threw its support behind Crow, who made gun control a central issue in his 2018 run. The endorsement follows a designation by Moms Demand Action naming Crow a Gun Sense Candidate.
An Everytown spokeswoman said the endorsement comes with grassroots support from members and at least $60 million in campaign spending nationwide to support candidates in competitive races, including Crow, who is seeking a second term in the evenly divided 6th Congressional District.
Crow, an attorney and Army Ranger veteran, unseated five-term Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman last cycle in the battleground district, which covers Aurora and parts of Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties.
“The data makes one thing crystal clear — gun safety is going to be a winning issue in each and every competitive race this year,” said Charlie Kelly, an Everytown senior political advisor, in a statement.
“These endorsements are the first step in our election efforts, which will be a devastating one-two punch, combining unprecedented resources and unmatched grassroots power to send gun sense candidates from across the country to Washington.”
A spokeswoman noted that Crow voted for HR 8, a Democratic measure to require background checks on all gun sales, and sponsored a bill to eliminate the ability of out-of-state residents to circumvent background checks when purchasing rifles and shotguns.
Crow won an endorsement last month from national gun-violence prevention organization Brady PAC.
A volunteer with the Colorado chapter of Moms Demand Action said that Crow has repeatedly demonstrated that he champions sensible gun-safety policies.
“Gun violence has not stopped during the coronavirus pandemic — but knowing Congressman Crow is continuing to fight against senseless gun violence plaguing Colorado families gives me hope,” said Jessica Price in a statement.
Recent polling conducted for Everytown showed large majorities of Americans believe it’s more important since the coronavirus pandemic began to require background checks on all gun sales and to prevent domestic abusers from owning firearms.
Crow’s Republican challenger, former Colorado Republican Party Chairman Steve House, says on his campaign website that the Second Amendment has been “repeatedly attacked and undermined” by “misguided campaigns against a fundamental American right.”
A spokesman for House didn’t respond to an inquiry from Colorado Politics seeking House’s positions on specific gun policies, including universal background checks and federal funding for research into gun violence.
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