Everytown For Gun Safety Endorses Latest Round of Moms Demand Action Volunteers Running for Office in Virginia

Moms Demand Action Volunteers Currently Make Up Nearly 20% of the Virginia House Democratic Caucus; In April, Everytown for Gun Safety Endorsed Former Moms Demand Action Volunteer Abigail Spanberger for Governor

WASHINGTON — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund announced a new round of volunteer endorsements for the 2025 Virginia elections. These endorsements are a testament to the growing power of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers as candidates for office themselves. In April, Everytown endorsed former Moms Demand Action volunteer Abigail Spanberger for Governor of Virginia.

“Moms Demand Action volunteers in Virginia have already proven they will do whatever it takes to keep their communities safe, so it’s no surprise more and more of them are making the leap from influencing laws to writing them,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Everytown is proud to endorse these Virginia volunteers, whose leadership in the gun violence prevention movement will help them hit the ground running after they’re elected.”

“Virginia has proven the power of this movement, with nearly a fifth of the House Democratic Caucus made up of former Moms Demand Action volunteers. Today, we’re proud to endorse these volunteers-turned-candidates so that their ranks can continue to grow,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. “When Moms Demand Action volunteers lead, Virginia gets elected officials who put public safety first. We’re ready to do everything in our power to help them win.”

Gun safety was a key issue in the 2023 Virginia elections: Gun sense candidates and Moms Demand Action volunteers won major victories up and down the ballot, flipping the House of Delegates and ensuring a gun sense majority in the Virginia legislature. Moms Demand Action volunteers currently make up nearly 20% of the Virginia House Democratic caucus. 2023 post-election polling showed that 80%+ of battleground area voters said a candidate’s position on guns was highly important, and those voters supported strengthening gun laws by more than two to one.

The full list of candidates endorsed today and the office they are running for is available below:

• Delegate Patrick Hope, House of Delegates, VA-HD-01
• Delegate Karen Keys-Gamarra, House of Delegates, VA-HD-07
• Delegate Laura Jane Cohen, House of Delegates, VA-HD-15
• Delegate Rozia Henson, House of Delegates, VA-HD-19
• Elizabeth Guzman, House of Delegates, VA-HD-22
• Delegate Atoosa Reaser, House of Delegates, VA-HD-27
• Delegate Marty Martinez, House of Delegates, VA-HD-29
• Delegate Amy Laufer, House of Delegates, VA-HD-55
• Delegate Joshua Cole, House of Delegates, VA-HD-65
• Dr. Mark Downey, House of Delegates, VA-HD-69
• Delegate Shelly Simonds, House of Delegates, VA-HD-70
• Jessica Anderson, House of Delegates, VA-HD-71
• Lindsey Dougherty, House of Delegates, VA-HD-75
• April Chandler, Loudoun County School Board, Algonkian District

The 2023-2024 election cycle marked a significant milestone, as over 330 Moms Demand Action volunteers running for office won races up and down the ballot in 42 states across the country and Washington, D.C. The volunteers were all part of Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund’s Demand a Seat program, which has been pivotal in transforming grassroots volunteers into successful candidates and campaign professionals. The Demand a Seat program provides the tools and training needed to transform grassroots energy into electoral success—more than 500 volunteers from 42 states have been elected to office since Demand a Seat was launched in 2021.