Wash. Examiner: Gun Control Main Issue in 8 Midterm Races

Gun control is a main issue in eight House and Senate races around the U.S., the Washington Examiner reported.

The Examiner chose the eight races because they are within 100 miles of a mass shooting that has happened within the last 10 years, they are on the University of Virginia's Center for Politics Crystal Ball list of races that are considered toss-ups, and the races are in suburban areas, which have grown heated after the Parkland, Florida, shootings.

The eight races are:

• Colorado's 6th District, where incumbent Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., has received more than $100,000 from the National Rifle Association since he first ran in 2008.
• Florida's 26th District, where Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., has shifted his stance on guns in the wake of recent shootings.
• Florida's 27th District, where Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., is retiring after nearly 30 years in the House.
• Arizona's 2nd District, where the congressional seat is open with Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., becoming a Senate candidate.
• Nevada's 3rd and 4th Districts, both open-seat toss-ups surrounding the metropolitan area of Las Vegas, where the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history left more than 50 dead last fall.
• The Nevada U.S. Senate race , where Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., is seen as the most vulnerable Republican senator up for re-election.
• The Arizona U.S. Senate race, where Sen. Jeff Flake, a critic of President Donald Trump, is retiring. The expected Democratic nominee, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., has $5.1 million in Senate campaign funds, more than any Republican in the race.

Gifffords, a gun control group started by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., after she survived a shooting in 2011, aims to capitalize on the debate as Republicans try to maintain control of both the House and the Senate, the Examiner reported.

"We want to refocus attention on gun safety as something (voters) should be thinking about when deciding who to support," Giffords political director Isabelle James told the Examiner.

Giffords posted a list of NRA grades and gun lobby contributions for every member of Congress in a tweet Wednesday.

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