The Brady Campaign wasted little time claiming the Nov. 3 midterm elections as a gun control victory. In a Nov. 4 social media post, the organization proclaimed that Americans across party lines want leaders who prioritize public safety and reject the Trump administration’s so-called “guns everywhere” agenda.
With Democrats winning control of both chambers of Congress, Brady celebrated what it described as “gun violence prevention majorities” and called for action. The problem with that claim is there’s no evidence to show that’s what voters wanted.
Voter Priorities
An October Pew Research Center survey found that 84 percent of registered voters considered the economy very important to their congressional vote. The future of democracy followed at 73 percent, healthcare at 68 percent and education at 62 percent.
Gun policy (as a broad category) ranked 10th among 16 issues surveyed, with 45 percent calling it very important. That was down from 57 percent in a comparable October 2022 survey.
The contrast was particularly revealing among voters supporting Democrat congressional candidates. Just 40 percent considered gun control very important, compared with 88 percent for the economy and 82 percent for healthcare.
An NPR/PBS News/Marist poll reinforced those priorities. Asked to identify their most pressing election issue, 34 percent of likely voters selected the cost of living and 33 percent chose preserving democracy.
And when registered voters were asked whether protecting gun ownership rights or passing stricter gun control laws should take priority, the results were closely divided. Of those surveyed, 46 percent favored protecting gun ownership rights and 49 percent favored stricter laws.
Those findings complicate Brady’s assertion that election results demonstrate a broad, bipartisan demand for its policy agenda.
NSSF recently reported that organizations — including Everytown for Gun Safety — invested heavily in the midterms. Their involvement demonstrates political influence, but campaign spending, voter contacts and endorsements alone cannot establish why individual voters cast their ballots.
Campaign Threats
Michigan offers an especially consequential example of why election victories should not be confused with endorsements of every position held by a successful candidate.
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeated former Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat. His campaign focused heavily on healthcare, affordability and corporate influence.
But in an April 2023 video, El-Sayed proposed replacing the Second Amendment with a constitutional right to healthcare.
The video was subsequently removed from public view. When the remarks resurfaced, El-Sayed’s spokesperson said he respected the Second Amendment. Yet when asked in August whether he still favored replacing the constitutional protection, El-Sayed instead argued that more Americans were concerned about seeing a doctor than owning a firearm.
That response presents healthcare and the Second Amendment as competing priorities. They are not mutually exclusive. Americans can advocate expanded healthcare access while maintaining constitutional protections for lawful firearm ownership.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Heller decision affirmed that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess and carry firearms for lawful purposes, including self-defense. Replacing that protection would require a constitutional amendment, including ratification by three-fourths of the states. A single senator cannot amend the U.S. Constitution.
Nevertheless, El-Sayed’s election gives him a future vote on firearm legislation and federal judicial confirmations. His previous statements are relevant to understanding how he may approach those responsibilities.
NSSF detailed the stakes in Michigan before Election Day, including proposed restrictions affecting lawful firearm owners, retailers and manufacturers.
Gun Ownership Up, Crime Down
Firearm ownership and crime statistics present another important distinction between gun control messaging and measurable public safety outcomes.
According to NSSF’s January 2026 firearm production report, an estimated 506.1 million firearms were in civilian possession based on historical data through 2023. NSSF also estimates that 26.2 million Americans became first-time firearm owners between 2020 and 2024. Those estimates reflect the enormous scale of lawful civilian firearm ownership in the United States.
Meanwhile, the FBI’s 2025 national crime statistics recorded the largest annual decline in the violent crime rate since national estimates began in 1936. Violent crime fell 9.3 percent from 2024 to 2025. Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter declined 18.1 percent, while robbery dropped 18.5 percent. The murder rate fell to 4.1 per 100,000 residents, tying the lowest rate recorded by the FBI.
Those figures do not prove that firearm ownership caused crime to decline, just as a national decline cannot establish that any particular gun control law produced the improvement. Firearms do not independently commit crimes. Criminals who misuse them bear responsibility for their actions, and effective public safety policy must account for the conduct of violent offenders. That includes examining how criminals illegally acquire firearms, enforcing laws against straw purchasing and trafficking and addressing the causes of violent crime.
NSSF’s Real Solutions. Safer Communities campaign, which includes Don’t Lie for the Other Guy, FixNICS and Operation Secure Store, addresses specific public safety concerns through illegal-purchase prevention, improved background-check records and firearm retailer security.
Brady’s blustering about a gun control mandate is not much more than hot air. The available polling establishes a more complicated picture of the electorate than a single-issue mandate. Election victories establish who will govern. They do not, by themselves, establish why Americans voted or which firearm restrictions they want enacted.
Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.