The National Rifle Association is going after Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia in a new television ad, as legislators and Newtown families meet this week to gear up for a second legislative push on background checks.
After years of endorsing Manchin, a Democrat, the NRA paid $100,000 to air a new ad over the next two weeks, according to the Associated Press.
The ad slams Manchin for his work to broaden background checks and calls on West Virginians to call and “tell Senator Manchin to honor his commitment to the Second Amendment," and criticizes him for working with President Obama, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and their “gun control agenda.”
Manchin and Sen. Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, were both A-rated NRA members when they proposed a bipartisan deal on background checks. The legislation would have extended background checks to gun shows and private sales between strangers, while strengthening the laws that prohibit record-keeping of gun sales. The bill came five votes short of the requisite 60 votes it needed.
After the vote, the approval ratings of Toomey and many red-state Democrats rose, while senators who voted against the bill saw their approval ratings drop.
Manchin has pledged to keep working to create passable background check legislation. The senator met on Wednesday with families of victims from the Newtown elementary school shooting last year.
“This is not politics we are playing, this is real change in real people’s lives,” he told the families.