NRA in Last-Minute Push to Boost GOP in Georgia

Second Amendment advocates are making a last-minute push to turn out gun voters in the Georgia runoff elections as part of a multimillion-dollar effort to put guns at the forefront of the 2020 campaign.

The National Rifle Association told the Washington Free Beacon that it will send 100,000 text messages to supporters in Georgia on Tuesday encouraging them to vote in the Senate elections. That's the final part of a $4.5 million effort by the gun group to frame the races as the last defense against new federal gun control. By contrast, Federal Election Commission records show the top gun-control groups have spent just under $103,000 on the two races.

Timothy Lytton, a Georgia State University professor who has studied gun politics, said the spending contrast is an example of the different turnout strategies employed by each side in the race. He said that gun-control groups have remained relatively quiet to avoid hurting Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.

"This runoff is really all about turnout," Lytton told the Free Beacon. "Republicans turn out for gun rights and religion. Those are the top Republican mobilizing issues in the state. And that's just not true for the Democrats."