The National Rifle Association has endorsed the entire statewide Republican ticket in Virginia. | Dominick Reuter/Getty Images NRA delays TV ads in Virginia after Las Vegas shooting

The National Rifle Association has delayed a week's worth of television advertising in Virginia's 2017 elections.

The NRA was set to air ads starting Tuesday, media-buying sources said, with five weeks to go until Virginia's statewide elections. But the group has now gone dark until Oct. 10.


The delayed advertising campaign keeps the NRA off the airwaves in Virginia in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at a concert in Las Vegas, which authorities have said left more than 50 dead. But a source familiar with the ad buy said the gun-rights group had already shuffled its advertising schedule as part of its campaign strategy and said the delay wasn't related to the Las Vegas shooting.

The NRA has endorsed the entire statewide Republican ticket in Virginia, including gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie, attorney general nominee John Adams and lieutenant governor nominee Jill Vogel. It's also endorsed candidates in races for the state House of Delegates. Gillespie is locked in a tight race with Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam to be the state's next governor.

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot by a gunman in 2011 and now leads the gun control group Americans for Responsible Solutions, was set to campaign for Northam today. But the event was also canceled following the shooting in Las Vegas.