Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the gun control movement's most active and affluent advocate, will host a fundraiser at his Manhattan home later this month for Sen. Joe Manchin, according to an invitation for the event obtained by BuzzFeed.
Manchin, a Democrat from Republican-leaning West Virginia, led the Senate's push for a bill to expand background checks on private gun sales earlier this year in the wake of the mass shooting last December in Newtown, Conn. Manchin's bill, co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, failed despite backing from the White House and Bloomberg's own group, Mayor's Against Illegal Guns.
The fundraiser, scheduled for July 22, marks Bloomberg's efforts to reward those who supported the gun control campaign and punish those senators who voted against it, including four Democratic senators: Montana's Max Baucus, Alaska's Mark Begich, North Dakota's Heidi Heitkamp, and Arkansas' Mark Pryor. Last month, the New York City mayor appealed to state donors to cut off contributions to the four lawmakers.
Manchin, once an ally of the National Rifle Association, isn't up for reelection for another five years, but will likely be one of the gun lobby's biggest targets come 2018.
Tickets for the Bloomberg event start at $1,000.
Correction: Manchin is up for reelection in 2018. An earlier version of this article misstated the year. (7/2/2013)