The most recent data from Cook Political Report says that “Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as toss-ups.” Also in that number, Cook included North Carolina and New Hampshire.
It’s no accident that those states are all states where Michael Bloomberg has been dumping money. But there’s another tidbit of data that’s encouraging: in those seven swing states, gun sales in 2020 are up 77.9% over last year.
This comes after NICS checks nationwide between March and August were up 93% over last year — including over 5 million first time gun owners. Additionally, sales of ammunition are up 139% over the same time last year.
Election 2020
Millions of new gun owners in states that could go either way. Record high ammunition sales nationwide, and so many NICS checks that the FBI’s system is staggering under the load.
What measurable impact will this have on the election that is just over 40 days away?
Breitbart News reported on the impact that pollsters and politicos think is possible:
Ken Mahoney, political and financial analyst and CEO of Mahoney Asset Management, who observed the tight races in swing states during the 2016 election. He said, “These states had a margin of victory of less than 1% in 2016, so each campaign is sure to increase their focus on these areas over the next 41 days.”
He then addressed the surge in gun purchases: “This issue is important for many Americans, and this is shown in the recent spike in gun sales as people fear the sale of firearms will be banned if Biden were to win.”