Gun issues see record political spending nationally — but not in Missouri
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Missouri Gun Violence Project
The Missouri Gun Violence Project is a two-year, statewide journalism effort supported by the nonprofits Report for America and the Missouri Foundation for Health. The Star has partnered with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Springfield News-Leader, and the Missouri Independent.
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Gun rights groups and their gun safety opponents are spending record amounts of money across the country this election cycle.
But not in Missouri.
With the state’s gun regulations already rolled back in recent years and showing no sign of returning under a Republican-majority General Assembly, the National Rifle Association and related groups have spent far less in Missouri.
In the Nov. 3 election, such groups have contributed less than $66,000 to state and congressional campaigns, a steep drop-off from years past, according to publicly available data.
A single $1,000 contribution from the Giffords Center PAC to Jill Schupp, a Democrat running in the 2nd Congressional District covering the western suburbs of St. Louis, represents the only money from gun safety advocates this election. Everytown for Gun Safety, which has spent the most across the country, made no contributions in Missouri this year.
“I don’t think either side of the debate sees Missouri in play at the moment,” said Peverill Squire, a political science professor at the University of Missouri, where he researches legislative institutions and elections.
That may explain why the state has largely been ignored by gun-related interest groups in 2020, despite a record year for gun homicides in Missouri’s cities and political attention on violent crime.
The incumbent Republican Gov. Mike Parson is running against State Auditor Nicole Galloway in next Tuesday’s election. Parson, who maintains a steady lead over Galloway, has an A+ NRA rating, but received very little cash from the group. Galloway was given an F by the NRA and an endorsement from Everytown, though her campaign did not get financial support from them.
Their polarized endorsements mirror campaigns up and down the ballot in Missouri. Democratic candidates either received an F or no rating from the NRA and most have support from Everytown. Aside from two candidates, every Republican got an A from the pro-gun group and no support from the gun safety organization. The NRA made no endorsement in the 5th congressional district in the Kansas City area and the 1st district in the St. Louis area.
The 2nd District race is the most expensive — and contested — Missouri election this cycle. The latest polls have them in a dead heat, with each candidate receiving 49% of the vote.
Overall, spending for this congressional seat is around $9 million — nearly 9 times more than any other race. Money from gun lobbyists made up a small fraction of the overall contributions, nothing like the contested Senate elections of 2016 and 2018.
Schupp, the Democratic challenger, said she supports common sense gun safety measures like expanded background checks.
“I support the Second Amendment, but I also agree with Former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia who said the Second Amendment is not without limitations,” Schupp said. “We need to be smart about our gun laws, and it is incumbent upon our policy makers to help keep our community safe and address this public health crisis.”
The Wagner campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Thanks to the rollback of certain regulations — including the state’s permit-to-purchase law in 2008 and concealed carry license requirement in 2016 — Missouri gradually developed some of the nation’s most open gun laws.
In a way, Missouri is one of the NRA’s greatest success stories, Squire said, and there is little chance the laws the organization advocated for will be overturned while the state legislature remains solidly Republican.
Going forward, Squire said the NRA will be playing defense rather than offense in Missouri to protect the major policy gains the group helped achieve in the last two decades.
“Over a generation, the NRA was remarkably successful at raising concerns among many gun owners, about gun rights and pushing for laws that many gun owners aren’t altogether comfortable with,” Squire said.
During the 2018 midterms, gun safety groups eclipsed NRA spending for the first time nationwide, a major shift considering how the association has dominated election spending for years. This election cycle, organizations like Everytown have spent over $19 million, which is nearly double the amount gun rights groups contributed to candidates.
The money raised by gun safety organizations could mark the beginning of a turning tide for gun laws.
“The ability of gun safety groups to get those things on the ballot — in states where they’ve been able to do that, they’ve had success,” Squire said. “There are certainly areas where public opinion seems to be on the side of gun safety groups.”
Gun violence will be the subject of a new, statewide journalism project The Star is undertaking in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America and sponsored in part by Missouri Foundation for Health. As part of this project, The Star will seek the community’s help.
To contribute, visit Report for America online at reportforamerica.org.
This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
