McBath endorses Bloomberg's Democratic presidential campaign

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath is endorsing former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. U.S. Rep Lucy McBath, gun violence research funding, McBath border-funding vote

McBath, a first-term Democrat from Marietta who represents the 6th Congressional District of Georgia, said Wednesday that Bloomberg “has given mothers like me a way to fight back against gun violence.

“I’m proud to stand with him in this race. He will win this election, and work with Congress to pass common sense gun safety laws.”

McBath’s 17-year-old son was shot and killed by a man with a gun at a Florida gas station in 2012. The man, who got a life sentence, had complained about loud music coming from a car in which the boy was sitting.

That launched her advocacy for gun-control, and eventually led to her Congressional run in 2018, when she defeated incumbent Karen Handel.

Handel, a Republican, is campaigning to get her seat back, but McBath has a significant fundraising advantage.

According to The Washington Post, McBath received $1.25 million in her 2018 campaign from Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, a political-action committee co-founded and substantially funded by Bloomberg. The AJC has reported that’s part of around $4.5 million Bloomberg-affiliated gun control groups spent to elect McBath.

McBath is one of 12 House Democrats in Congress and several mayors nationwide to endorse Bloomberg, who announced his presidential campaign in November.

Bloomberg has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on television ads but didn’t enter the Iowa Caucuses or the New Hampshire Primary.

He is campaigning in Georgia, which has a presidential primary March 24.

McBath’s endorsement has stirred some controversy. Charles Blow, a columnist at The New York Times, accused her in a social media posting of being bought by Bloomberg.

A conservative group, Americans for Public Trust, has filed ethics complaints against McBath and other House Democrats, according to Fox News.

The complaint against McBath claims that she was a public spokeswoman for Everytown for Gun Safety as a paid employee while she was campaigning for Congress.

During his time as New York mayor, Bloomberg came under fire for supporting “stop and frisk” policing that was opposed by many black community leaders.

Bloomberg and President Donald Trump have been hurling insults at one another on social media.