A Bus Tour, a Congresswoman, and a Plan to End Gun Violence

the campaign

Working with Americans for Responsible Solutions, we designed and executed a campaign with the objectives of amplifying the voices of the majority of Americans who support gun violence prevention (GVP); establishing GVP as a winning issue for candidates; demonstrating Americans for Responsible Solutions’ role in making GVP a politically important and influential issue in 2016; and mobilizing GVP activists.

To that end, we coordinated a nationwide bus tour with press conferences, rallies, roundtable discussions, meetings with reporters, state and local stakeholders; drove an aggressive social media amplification program; and developed relationships with influential surrogates across the country to help carry the message.

results

We showed that GVP is a winning issue with voters. In 2016, we held Senator Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire accountable for her terrible vote against expanding background checks. All the energy and resources paid off and Ayotte was one of only two GOP Senate incumbents defeated that cycle. 

political impact

Americans voted for candidates who would stand up to the gun lobby and take action to prevent gun violence.

In head-to-head with the NRA, ARS-endorsed candidates won the majority (58%) of races; and 77 of 106 ARS-endorsed candidates or initiatives won.

In the battleground state of New Hampshire, ARS defeated Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte when voters rejected her votes against expanding background checks for gun sales.