Chris Murphy is trying to to raise $1 million in one day in an effort he's calling NR8, splitting the money between Democrats running in races which would have an immediate impact on changing gun laws. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Gun Control Murphy spearheads fundraising push to elect pro-gun control Democrats

Chris Murphy is out to fight the gun lobby with a money bomb.

And he’s lining up some of the biggest names in Democratic politics to try to make the impact as big as possible.


“It’s time to take this movement for a test drive and see how big and powerful we are,” said the Connecticut senator, who has established himself as a national leader among gun control advocates since the shooting in Newtown occurred in his old House district, just after he was elected to the Senate in 2012.

Murphy is calling his effort NR8, identifying seven Democrats running for House seats and Jacky Rosen, running against Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, in races that they’ve determined are both winnable, and which would have an immediate impact on changing gun laws.

The goal is to raise $1 million in one day, scheduled for next Friday, Oct. 5, then split the cash between the candidates. It won’t be a PAC—just a pass-through for the money, and a combined list won’t be assembled for any future use.

The plan is to send an email that will simultaneously hit the lists of Hillary Clinton and Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Tim Kaine, Richard Blumenthal, Jeff Merkley, and Brian Schatz, along with Reps. Steny Hoyer, Ted Deutch, Robin Kelly and Joe Kennedy. It’ll also hit MoveOn, Everytown, Giffords, Moms Demand Action, Pride Fund and the Brady Campaign.

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This will be the first joint fundraising effort by the gun control movement, a reflection of how advocates’ political sensibilities have evolved, and of the growing aggressiveness—and resonance—of candidates talking up safety and restrictions on the campaign trail. Murphy had convened many of the politicians and groups who are participating in NR8 back in February, less than two weeks after the Parkland shooting, to begin planning. NR8 grew out of some of the conversations that sparked, and the efforts have continued to expand since the March for Our Lives at the end of March.

Murphy said he sees next week’s effort as an experiment that he may expand into more fundraising for more candidates before November, and beyond.

“Let’s see how this goes,” Murphy said. “If it’s successful, it’s a pretty low cost way to leverage all our lists to show what we can do together.”



