Everytown for Gun Safety on Tuesday rolled out its first round of Senate endorsements ahead of November's crucial general election.
The gun-control advocacy group threw its support behind 11 Democratic Senate candidates including Mark Kelly in Arizona, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper
John HickenlooperHickenlooper announces .7M raised in pre-primary reporting period The Hill's Campaign Report: Liberal groups pressure Biden on police reform as Trump signs executive order Hickenlooper apologizes for resurfaced comment comparing himself to slave MORE, Theresa Greenfield in Iowa, Sara Gideon in Maine, Rep. Ben Ray Luján in New Mexico, Cal Cunningham in North Carolina, Jaime Harrison in South Carolina and MJ Hegar in Texas.
The endorsement of Gideon is particularly notable given the group endorsed incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins
Susan Margaret CollinsBipartisan Senate group offers bill to strengthen watchdog law after Trump firings Senate confirms McConnell protege to D.C. Circuit Roberts sparks backlash from conservative senators with DACA ruling MORE (D-Maine) in 2014.
The group also backed incumbent Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin
Richard (Dick) Joseph DurbinDACA supporters celebrate and prepare: 'We know this is temporary' The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Bolton book rocks Washington Schumer faces tough choice on police reform MORE (Ill.), Gary Peters
Gary Charles PetersBlack voters need a new Senate as much as a new president McConnell plans to stay on as Senate GOP leader even if he loses majority Hillicon Valley: Zuckerberg expresses 'disgust,' keeps policies | New doomsday cyber bills | QAnon follower favored for congressional seat MORE (Mich.) and Tina Smith
Tina Flint SmithGroup of Democratic senators to propose making Juneteenth national holiday Gun control group rolls out first round of Senate endorsements Pelosi: George Floyd death is 'a crime' MORE (Minn.).
Democrats are hoping to pick up three or four seats in order to seize control of the upper chamber.
The nonpartisan political website, the Cook Political Report, has rated the races in Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and North Carolina, all currently seats held by Republicans, as toss-ups.
Everytown jumped into the 2020 electoral fray earlier this year, announcing its plan to spend a minimum of $60 million nationwide in the 2020 elections.
The group has targeted a number of key races in the House and Senate, emphasizing the need to protect what it calls a "gun sense majority," which is mostly comprised of Democratic candidates.
“Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell The LGBTQ community scores a win this week, but the fight isn't over Senior State Dept. official resigns in response to Trump's handling of protests Overnight Energy: EPA declines to regulate chemical tied to developmental damage | Democrats unveil .5T infrastructure plan | Land management bureau eases requirements for oil, gas royalty cut requests MORE is the single biggest obstacle to gun safety reform in Washington, so Everytown is going all-in to flip the Senate and elect leaders who will treat America’s gun violence epidemic like the crisis it is," Everytown President John Feinblatt said in a statement on Tuesday.
