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VICTORY FOR GUN SAFETY: Six Moms Demand Action Volunteers Win Elections in Minnesota, Flipping Statehouse to a Gun Sense Majority

11.11.2022

More than One Hundred Twenty-Five Newly Elected Volunteers Join Growing Ranks of Moms Demand Action Volunteers Elected to Office Since Its Founding in 2012, Part of 275+ Volunteers who Ran for Office This Cycle

Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action Volunteers Made Over Six Million Voter Contacts to Support Gun Sense Candidates Across the Country

MINNEAPOLIS – Six Moms Demand Action volunteers from across Minnesota – all women – won election for office this week. Four of them were elected to the State Senate, flipping the chamber to provide a one-seat gun sense majority, and delivering a gun sense trifecta. These include Erin Maye Quade, who is one of the first LGBTQ+ and first Black women to be elected to the Minnesota state Senate. 

These wins will set the stage for the upcoming 2023 legislative session, paving the way for the passage of common sense gun safety policies that will help keep Minnesota families and communities safe from gun violence. With votes still being counted in many places, more than 100 Moms Demand Action volunteers from across the country won election for office up and down the ballot in this week’s midterm elections, highlighting the political power of Moms Demand Action volunteers as candidates for office themselves.

“From running for office themselves to getting out the vote for Gun Sense Champions up and down the ticket, Minnesota Moms Demand Action volunteers were critical to the monumental victories in Minnesota this election,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “Thanks to their hard work, including electing six Moms Demand Action volunteers, we now have a gun sense trifecta and we’re eager to get to work in the coming legislative session to advance gun safety policies to help save lives and keep Minnesota communities safe from gun violence.”

“After helping countless gun sense candidates win their races, these Minnesota volunteers took matters into their own hands and made the leap to elected office,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “These gun sense champions can count on Everytown’s full support as they push for lifesaving laws in St. Paul, just as we’ve counted on their support to build a nationwide movement that is only growing stronger.”

“The results of this week’s elections send a clear message: gun safety is a winning issue in Minnesota, and women are leading the charge,” said Susie Kaufman, a volunteer with the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action. “We are so proud to stand alongside fellow volunteers as they take their advocacy to the next level, and we look forward to working hand in hand with them as partners in elected office to end gun violence in our state.”

Everytown-endorsed Moms Demand Action volunteers who won their races Tuesday include:

  • Heather Edelson – State Representative, MN-HD-50A
  • Mary Frances Clardy – State Representative, MN-HD-53A
  • Liz Bolden – State Senator, MN-SD-025
  • Bonnie Westlin –  State Senator, MN-SD-042
  • Lindsey Port – State Senator, MN-SD-055
  • Erin Maye Quade – State Senator, MN-056

Last year, Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund launched “Demand a Seat,” a program to train grassroots volunteers and gun violence survivors to take the next step in their advocacy efforts by running for office and working on campaigns to elect gun sense candidates. The program invested $3 million in educational training and mentorship opportunities for grassroots volunteers considering campaigns at the local, state, and federal levels. More information on Demand a Seat can be found here.

Since 2017, hundreds of Moms Demand Action volunteer leaders have run for elected office and dozens have won seats – from town council and school board to U.S. Congress.