IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - A national gun control advocacy group said Monday it is targeting eight key races with digital ads and mailers seeking to help Democrats win back control of the Iowa House.
Everytown for Gun Safety, the group founded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, will spend $800,000 opposing five incumbent Republicans seeking re-election and three running for open seats.
The ads criticize the Republican candidates for their party’s work to pass weaker gun laws, such as one recently signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds that limits the ability of municipalities to ban firearms in public buildings.
“The gun lobby controls Iowa politicians, blocking laws that could save lives,” the mailers read.
Everytown had announced last month that it planned to spend $1 million to help Democrats, who need to pick up four seats to win control of the 100-member Iowa House for the first time in a decade.
The group says the bulk of that investment will go to online ads and mailers targeting races for districts that include Fort Dodge, Council Bluffs, Ankeny, Cedar Rapids, Fairfield, Bettendorf, Walcott and Mount Vernon.
Some of the ads also criticize Republicans on health care, even though Everytown’s policy agenda focuses strictly on firearms issues such as enacting stronger background checks and so-called red flag laws.
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