Malinowski says voters will understand Lance’s record on guns

Democrat Tom Malinowski has been talking about gun safety issues since he entered the race for Congress more than a year ago, but the endorsement of the Republican incumbent by Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly, has created an unexpected twist in his bid to unseat a five-term incumbent in New Jersey’s 7th district.

With America’s most recognizable gun control advocates supporting Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton), Malinowski has to convince voters that the Giffords PAC endorsement isn’t an invincible seal of approval.

Malinowski seems confident that voters in New Jersey’s 7th district are sophisticated and educated enough to pay attention to what’s going on.

“I don’t think it’s going to be hard to persuade them that Congressman Lance has the record that he actually has,” said Malinowski.  “That he had an A rating from the NRA throughout his career, that he has been against the assault rifle ban forever and still is, that even as late as 2017 he voted against a rule that would have prevented people with the most severe mental health problems the ability to purchase a weapon.”

Lance received 93% ratings from the National Rifle Association in 2014 and 2016 and has taken campaign contributions from them in the past.

“I think they will recognize his political deathbed conversion for what it is on the issue of universal background checks, an act not of conviction but of fear,” said Malinowski, a former Assistant U.S. Secretary of State in the Obama administration.

What will put him over the top, Malinowski told the New Jersey Globe, is that voters will understand the difference between a Congress controlled by Democrats versus one led by the Republicans.

“I think they’ll understand that if what we want is legislation passing the Congress over these issues, a vote for Lance is not going to get us there because he will vote for a Speaker of the House of Representatives who will categorically refuse to bring any gun safety legislation to a vote,” Malinowski said.

According to Malinowski, Lance has “essentially endorsed” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to succeed Paul Ryan as Speaker, if the GOP holds their majority in the November midterm elections.

“He went on Fox News a while back and said that Kevin McCarthy is likely to be the speaker, he’s a really good guy,” Malinowski said.  “Kevin McCarthy is the least extreme choice Republicans will have if they keep the majority.  McCarthy has an A+ NRA rating and has taken tens of thousands of dollars from the NRA over the years and absolutely will not bring to the floor issues Congressman Lance claims to support.”

Todd Mitchell, Lance’s chief of staff, says that “Leonard has not endorsed any candidate.”

“He has endorsed the Problem Solvers “Break the Gridlock” proposal and will insist on these changes before voting for a new Speaker of the House,” Mitchell said.

Among Malinowski’s complaints is that Lance “gets to have it both ways”

“He gets to say he’s for one small part of the gun violence prevention agenda, but he’ll never be forced to actually vote for it because his Speaker will not put him in that position,” Malinowski explained.

The effect of the Giffords/Kelly endorsement of Lance depends on how important gun issues are to an individual voter, according to Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University.

“If gun control is a voter’s top issue, then you certainly knows the difference between the Republican majority and a Democratic majority agenda,” said Rasmussen“If you are more concerned about a representative who can bridge the partisan divide, then this endorsement is a pretty useful one for Congressman Lance to have.”

(Editor’s note: This story was updated at 11:16 PM with comment from Lance’s chief of staff.)