Matt Mayberry says that “in the current climate, with rioting and looting in many major American cities, and with Democratic politicians promising to ‘defund the police,’ the Second Amendment is even more important than ever before. We must guarantee that Americans have the right to defend themselves, their families and their property.”

In the new ad Mayberry spends a little time at the private range of Macpherson Firearms owner Vinny Gillis, sending brass flying as he shoots rifles and pistols while talking about the endorsements that incumbent Democrat Chris Pappas is already receiving from gun control groups like Brady and Moms Demand Action.

Pappas’ campaign website is chock full of support for all kinds of gun control measures, from red flag laws to banning commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms like the AR-15. Mayberry, on the other hand, says that as an Air Force veteran and gun show promoter, he knows “how important guns are to the men and women of New Hampshire,” adding that “law-abiding gun owners are the backbone of our society.” 

Before Mayberry can take on Pappas, however, he’ll have to win the Republican primary scheduled for September 8th. Challenger Matt Mowers has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, but Mayberry calls Mowers a “30-year-old recent New Jersey transplant who has spent most of his adult life working for Chris Christie – one of the most prominent Republican advocates for gun-control in the country.”

…Second Amendment. Matt has my Complete and Total Endorsement! We need him in Washington now! #NH01 https://t.co/K4xoUlQiAI

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 11, 2020

The Republican-leaning district is seen as an opportunity to flip a seat in November, with both Mayberry and Mowers blasting Rep. Pappas for his lockstep support for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s agenda. In 2018 Pappas won election with 53% of the vote running against Eddie Edwards (no relation), a former police chief and member of the state’s Division of Liquor Enforcement. That narrow victory in a blue wave election may be difficult to replicate in 2020, and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has said the seat is perhaps the most flippable in the nation this November.

While Mowers has racked up endorsements from GOP establishment figures from President Trump on down, we’ve already seen some upsets in Republican primaries around the country where the president’s endorsed candidates failed to achieve launch. In North Carolina, for example, 24-year old Madison Cawthorn was outspent by Lynda Bennett, who was endorsed by Trump, but still cruised to victory earlier this month in the primary for the 11th congressional district.

In New Hampshire, both Mayberry and Mowers are running as supporters of President Trump, with Mowers citing his appointment by the president to the State Department and Mayberry touting his appearance as an alternate delegate for Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention. We’ll see how the race shakes out over the next few months, but I’m glad to see that the anti-gun record of incumbent Chris Pappas is already being called into question by the Mayberry campaign.