The National Rifle Association's political action committee raised more funds in the first half of 2019 than gun control PACs did, filings show.
The NRA's committee, the National Rifle Association of America Political Victory Fund, hovered slightly below the fundraising levels it saw at this point during its record-breaking cycle of 2013-2014. The PAC pulled in a total of
$21.9 million throughout that cycle. It raised
$8.3 million from the start of the cycle through July 2013.
Through the first seven months of 2019, the NRA's PAC
reported $6.7 million in contributions with multiple months surpassing $1 million in donations. An overwhelming majority of the PAC's money—$5.7 million—came from unitemized contributions, or small dollar donors who gave $200 or less to the committee. Individuals who contributed more than $200 to the PAC accounted for $970,000 of the PAC's totals.
The NRA's PAC pulled in more than twice the amount any gun control committee did so far this year. The Giffords PAC, for example, reports
$3.3 million in receipts through July. Michael Bloomberg's Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund, an independent-expenditures-only PAC, has one donation of
$5,000, which came from the group's victory fund. It did not report any actual donors yet this cycle.
Compared to the organizations' nonprofit entities, the PACs are only small components of the NRA and gun control groups. PACs, however, have much stricter reporting requirements on both their fundraising and spending.
The strong fundraising numbers come during a period of turmoil at the NRA, as well as calls for strict new gun control and even confiscation from Democrats.
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