Bloomberg PAC Targets Debbie Halvorson over NRA Acclaim in IL-02 Race

Independence USA PAC, founded by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, released an attack ad last week against former Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson (D-IL) for her support of the Second Amendment.

“When she was in Congress before, Halvorson got an ‘A’ from the NRA,” the ad warns. “When it comes to preventing gun violence,” it concludes, “she gets an ‘F.'”

Halvorson made headlines last week after declaring her opposition to an assault weapons ban at a candidate forum to replace Jesse Jackson, Jr., held at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. She stated the government “needs to do a better job enforcing the laws that are already on the books” to prevent criminals from acquiring guns.

Halvorson joined Republican candidate Paul McKinley, saying “no” when moderator Charles Thomas of ABC Chicago asked the candidates whether they supported a ban on AR-15 rifles specifically. 

While many media outlets have reported Halvorson’s position on the Second Amendment will actually bode well for her, given the large Democrat field of candidates and the district stretching into rural Illinois, she has since come under fire by the left, including Bloomberg’s PAC.