In a sharp escalation in the battle over gun control, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday will send a personal letter to hundreds of the biggest Democratic donors in New York urging them to cut off contributions to the four Democratic senators who helped block a bill in April that would have strengthened background checks on gun purchasers, reports the New York Times. The move could inflame tensions between Bloomberg and Democratic Senate leaders, who have privately told City Hall that the attacks can serve only to empower a Republican majority openly hostile to Bloomberg's priorities.
No state is more essential to the Democratic party's fund-raising: Sitting Democratic senators and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $30.4 million from New York donors in 2012, more than in any other state. The four Democratic senators who sided with Republicans filibustering the background check bill — Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska and Heid Heitkamp of North Dakota — have raised more than $2.2 million from New York.