Guns were featured in more than 100 television ads from Republican candidates during the midterm elections this year, according to data from the media tracking firm AdImpact, per The New York Times.
In comparison, there have been less than two dozen television ads in 2022 for Democratic candidates and aligned groups that showed guns or focused on putting an end to gun violence.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey posted a new ad campaign video to Twitter on May 13, highlighting what she's done for concealed carry laws in the state. In the video, Ivey is seen taking out lipstick, an iPhone, and "a little Smith & Wesson .38" from her purse.
"The Second Amendment is sacred, so I passed concealed carry for Alabamians to arm themselves without government interference," Ivey said in the ad. "That way, you don't know who's got what in their purse. Lipstick, an iPhone, or maybe, a little Smith & Wesson .38."
Kandiss Taylor, a Republican candidate who lost to incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp in the GOP primary on Tuesday, used the phrase "Jesus, Guns, Babies" as her campaign slogan. Taylor received just 3.4% of the votes, finishing third in the GOP primary in Georgia.
J.R. Majewski, an Air Force veteran, is running for Congress in Ohio's 9th District and is seen in one of his ad campaigns holding an assault rifle.
"I’m willing to do whatever it takes to return this country back to its former glory," Majewski said before pulling the trigger of the gun.
A political ad for Jake Bequette, a former U.S. Army officer and professional football player, used the phrase, "Babies, borders, bullets," throughout the video. The ad ended by saying, "Pro-gun, pro-wall, pro-life. Babies, borders, and bullets, that's Bequette." He lost in the Arkansas Senate Republican Primary to incumbent Sen. John Boozman.
Plenty of other ad campaigns for Republicans repeated a similar message, voicing their beliefs on abortion, immigration, and gun laws very prominently. Robert Blizzard, a Republican strategist, explained a bit of the logic behind the ads to The New York Times.
"You basically have Republican primary candidates trying to explain to Republican primary voters that they are going to be on their side when it comes to the cultural cold civil war that’s being fought right now," Blizzard said.
Of the few Democratic ad campaigns that mention guns, Rep. Thomas Suozzi of New York called out Gov. Kathy Hochul for her past support of the National Rifle Association. While Hochul has an ad that said she is "cracking down on illegal guns to make our neighborhoods safer."
Rep. Lucy McBath, who won her nomination this week in Georgia's 7th District, had a television ad much different that her opposition. Her ad highlights the tragedy she has dealt with in her personal life, as her teenage son Jordan Davis was shot and killed in 2012 by a white man at a gas station.
Since then, she has worked to put an end to gun violence. After her victory on Tuesday night, McBath spoke from personal experience and gave a message to the parents of victims from the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
"We paid for unfettered gun access with phone calls to mothers and fathers who have gasped for air when their desperation would not let them breathe," McBath said.
"We are exhausted, because we cannot continue to be the only country in the world where we let this happen again and again and again."
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