Gun policy gets biggest political test in the Virginia Beach district that suffered mass shooting
VIRGINIA BEACH — The ad begins with grainy footage of the municipal building, somber music and a woman’s voice: “May 31 started out like any other day,” Karen Havekost says, then describes walking out of the bathroom at work and seeing a gunman on a rampage that killed 12 people.
She slams her state senator, Republican William R. DeSteph Jr., for failing to “make a difference” on gun violence. The campaign ad — sponsored by DeSteph’s Democratic opponent, Missy Cotter Smasal — has stirred raw feelings in Virginia Beach, where almost everyone seems to know somebody touched by the mass shooting in the municipal building more than four months ago.
The tragedy has elevated gun policy statewide in this pivotal election year for the state legislature, with voters calling it the top overall issue in a recent Washington Post-Schar School poll. No candidate is pressing the topic more than Cotter Smasal, who thinks outrage over the mass shooting in her city will be key in turning a red-leaning district blue on Nov. 5.
National groups on both sides of the gun control debate have poured resources into the district, viewing it as a warm-up for next year’s presidential contest as gun violence continues to make headlines around the country. And Democrats see the race as a measure of how far they can go on election night in taking majorities in the state legislature, with Republicans defending narrow margins of 20-19 in the Senate and 51-48 in the House of Delegates, with one vacancy in each chamber.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/gun-policy-gets-its-biggest-political-test-in-the-virginia-beach-district-that-suffered-a-mass-shooting/2019/10/18/b3732ed0-ea0e-11e9-9306-47cb0324fd44_story.html
