The Democratic establishment is largely rallying behind Vice President Kamala Harris as their new favorite to take on Donald Trump in November, and that includes the gun control lobby. Most of the major gun control groups have already come out and endorsed Harris as Biden's replacement atop the Democrat ticket... with one notable exception. 

I am proud to endorse @KamalaHarris’s historic candidacy for President of the United States. She will make a great president, and her strong, steadfast leadership will save lives. Mark and I will do everything we can to ensure she is elected in November.

— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) July 21, 2024

With Pres. Biden’s decision to exit the race, we are putting our full support behind gun violence prevention champion Kamala Harris for President.

We know she will continue working to build a safer future for our country.https://t.co/Inve2jCtpc

— Brady | United Against Gun Violence (@bradybuzz) July 21, 2024

Thank you, President @JoeBiden, for leading the strongest gun safety administration in US history.

President Biden has done more to reduce gun violence than any president—signing the first federal gun safety law in nearly 30 years, establishing the first-ever White House Office… https://t.co/oNmldynfG4

— Everytown (@Everytown) July 21, 2024

Everytown for Gun Safety and the anti-gun groups under its umbrella offered up their thanks to Joe Biden on social media, but so far have avoided any explicit endorsement of Kamala Harris as his replacement. 

Will that last? Probably not. The vast majority of Democrats who were mentioned as potential candidates if Biden stepped aside have already thrown their support behind Harris, including governors Gavin Newsom, Andy Beshear, Gretchen Whitmer, and Josh Shapiro. POLITICO reports that West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is "reportedly fielding calls from Democratic donors and officials to rejoin the party and run for the top job," but I doubt Everytown would view Manchin as a better pick than the sitting vice-president. Harris has never met a gun control law she didn't support, and ostensibly oversees the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, though the real power of the office is suspected to be former Everytown lobbyist Rob Wilcox. 

More importantly, Manchin himself has taken himself out of the running, though not before taking a swipe at Harris's far-left ideology. 

“I am not running for office,” Manchin told “CBS Mornings” Gayle King. About an hour earlier on CNN “This Morning,” he told host Kasie Hunt “people are pushing in that direction” when asked if he was seeking the nomination. 

Manchin was adamant about an open nominating process in both interviews, citing former President Barack Obama and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s similar wishes. On CBS, he said Vice President Kamala Harris is “absolutely” too far left.

“My main thing is that we have a voice. I want the middle to have a voice,” he said on CNN. “We're not extreme left, we’re not extreme right. I don't run my life that way. Why do I have to only have two choices of a party?”

At this point, Democrats don't even have two choices. The establishment is hoping to make Harris's elevation a fait accompli, and they're likely to get their wish. Harris is the only candidate who can easily access the more than $100 million the Biden/Harris campaign had on hand, and she has reportedly raised about $50 million more since Biden announced he was stepping away. 

Harris is the natural choice for the gun control lobby, not only because of her cash on hand but also because of her ostensible experience on the issue, which makes Everytown's initial non-endorsement a little surprising. Her positions are right in line with Everytown's demands, after all.

I expect that endorsement will come today, but if not, Second Amendment supporters can take that as a sign that Michael Bloomberg's outfit (and maybe Bloomberg himself) has some serious reservations about whether Harris is any more electable than Biden.