Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund is the political action committee of Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, a New York-based lobbying group that advocates for gun control measures while opposing laws expanding firearms carry privileges. The victory fund has financed a variety of mailer and advertisement campaigns throughout the United States, as well as donating to other Democratic organizations.
Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and founder and owner of global financial services and media company Bloomberg LP, is the founder and the primary funder of Everytown. Bloomberg founded the anti-gun group in April 2014 to contest the influence of the pro-Second Amendment National Rifle Association. [1]
Spending
In the 2018 election cycle, Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund raised and spent nearly $4 million, making it the third highest-spending gun policy PAC in the United States. [2] In the 2020 election cycle, spending rose to over $32 million. As of March 2022, the victory fund has raised $8.3 million in the 2022 election cycle and spent $2.4 million. [3]
The victory fund’s political contributions have gone exclusively to Democratic organizations. In the 2020 election cycle, the victory fund gave $1 million to the Senate Majority PAC, over $100,000 to the House Majority PAC, $50,000 to the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association, and $36,000 to Priorities USA Action. [4]
In October 2021, the victory fund launched a $200,000 pilot program in Erie County, PA, to support Chris Campanelli (D), a pro-gun control Democratic sheriff candidate, against Republican Brian Shank (R), whom the group called “a dangerous, gun-lobby extremist.” [5]
In August 2021, the victory fund launched Demand a Seat, a $3 million campaign to recruit survivors of gun violence to run for office. [6]
In October 2020, the victory fund launched a $70,000 campaign to mail flyers written by a gun violence survivor urging voters to support Democrats in the state-wide election. [7]
In August 2020, the victory fund spent $6 million on advertisements to support Joe Biden (D-DE) in Florida during the presidential election. [8]
Funding
The Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund is primarily funded by former New York mayor and gun control activist Michael Bloomberg, sometimes through the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund. In the 2020 election cycle, the victory fund received substantial donations from billionaire heir Daniel Pritzker, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Samerian Foundation co-founder Cindy Simon Skjodt, billionaire insurance magnate Eli Broad, Welsh billionaire Michael Moritz, Renaissance Technologies vice president Henry Laufer, and billionaire heiress Pat Stryker. [9]