So there’s a new Elway poll out, as you may have heard. It tracks support of Washington’s two competing gun background check initiatives, I-591 and I-594. While there was a time when polls showed both efforts passing, the latest numbers – based on a poll taken earlier this month – shows I-594 being supported by 60 percent of voters, while I-591 is down to 39 percent support.

I-594 – which has raked in nearly $8 million in support from the likes of Bill and Melinda Gates, Nick Hanauer, Paul Allen and Michael Bloomberg – would expand gun background checks in Washington and close the so-called gun-show loophole. I-591, meanwhile, is being championed by well-known gun rights advocate Alan Gottlieb and his Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation. It would forbid Washington from enacting any background check legislation that doesn’t adhere to “a uniform national standard,” and would make it illegal for the state government to confiscate guns without due process.

So what do the latest poll numbers mean? While I-594 is down 12 percentage points from the 72 percent support it enjoyed back in April, according to Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility campaign manager Zach Silk, what’s most telling is where I-591 stands.

“They are obviously struggling because people want to strengthen background checks and the more they hear about 591 the more they realize 591 is a step backwards,” Silk tells Seattle Weekly. “While they are still within striking distance, they are in a tough spot: peddling an unpopular measure with ballots dropping this week.”

For his part, a defiant Gottlieb told Seattle Weekly last week that he expects both initiatives to pass. We’ll have a piece in this week’s issue looking at what that would mean for Washington.