With a month until the midterms, the NRA is now out with a new letter grade, which seems to acknowledge how candidates in marquee races have embraced the need for common-sense gun safety. According to the NRA’s website, the new letter grade, “Fx,” is reserved for “a candidate who requested and received the endorsement of Bloomberg’s anti-gun groups, ‘Moms Demand Action & Everytown for Gun Safety.’”
Consider us flattered.
In a new report by the Guardian, “John Feinblatt, Everytown’s president, greeted the new NRA ranking as a victory. ‘If there was any doubt that Everytown was the counterweight to the NRA, this proves it once and for all,’ Feinblatt told the Guardian.”
So far, the only recipients of the NRA’s new Fx grade are Florida candidates.
Just a few months ago, the NRA had to take down its database of past candidate grades because “our enemies were using that,” effectively admitting the NRA brand is a liability ahead of 2018 midterms.
It’s clear that an NRA A-rating has gone from a badge of honor to a scarlet letter. Now, the gun lobby is all but acknowledging that the political landscape has shifted, with candidates in red, blue and purple states running on the need for common-sense gun safety.
This news comes just weeks after Everytown announced an initial spend of up to $10 million in four states with key gubernatorial races: Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and New Mexico. Everytown’s electoral program also includes independent expenditures, candidate endorsements, voter registration and nationwide canvassing and phone banking. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about Everytown’s electoral program, don’t hesitate to reach out.
