When Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voted for the most significant gun violence prevention bill in nearly three decades, he offered a candid explanation for his turnaround after decades of opposing firearm restrictions.
“It’s no secret that we’ve lost ground in suburban areas. We pretty much own rural and small-town America. And I think this is a sensible solution to the problem before us, which is school safety and mental health,” McConnell told reporters. “And yes, I hope it will be viewed favorably by voters in the suburbs that we need to regain in order to hopefully be a majority next year.”
The Kentucky Republican’s goal is to downplay the contentious issues on which suburban voters may be more sympathetic to Democrats — including gun restrictions, abortion rights and former President Donald Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen — to soften the GOP’s image with this group of voters ahead of the midterm elections. CONTINUED
Sahil Kapur & Allan Smith, NBC News
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