by Being stuck in “no man’s land” or betwixt and between can be a hard place to be. I bring this up because I stumbled across an oddity concerning the candidates for the 2025 NRA Board of Directors.
On one side, you have the avowed and acknowledged reformers who can be found at ElectANewNRA.Com. There are 28 of us on that list including two – Paul Babaz and Charles Brown – who are running as write-in candidates.
On the other side are those endorsed by the cabal. We know who they are thanks to an ad that they plan to run. You can see that ad below with commentary disputing some of the claims.
If you include the two write-in candidates, you have a total of 51 people running for the Board in this cycle. 28 of these candidates are from the reform slate and 16 endorsed by the cabal as seen above. Obviously, 28 plus 16 does not add up to 51.
What you have are seven candidates left out in “no man’s land”. They are Steve Dulan, Greer Johnson, Lucretia Hughes Klucken, Kim Rhode, Gene Roach, Lane Ruhland, and Mark Shuell. All but Kim Rhode are on the ballot due to being nominated by the Nominating Committee.
Steve Dulan, Greer Johnson, and Kim Rhode currently are on the Board of Directors with Johnson and Rhode assuming their spots due to vacancies on the Board. Interestingly, both Dulan and Rhode voted to keep the Special Litigation Committee at the September meeting of the Board of Directors which should have endeared them to the cabal.
Of the seven, I have only spoken with Mark Shuell. He seems reform minded and has been active in the Facebook group Members Take Back the NRA. Thus, I can see why the cabal has distanced themselves from him. Additionally, he has been endorsed by Jeff Knox which is pretty much the kiss of death when it comes to the cabal.
It would be interesting to know the dynamics of the cabal’s decision to leave these seven out in the cold. As I said, I can understand Mark Shuell but not the rest. You have two that voted to keep the Special Litigation Committee (Dulan and Rhode), you have a close associate of former NRA President Carolyn Meadows (Johnson), and you have one that was on the NRA’s witness list for the NY trial (Klucken). I can’t speak to Roach or Ruhland other than to say they were nominated by the Nominating Committee.
As always, if new information comes to light, I will report on it here.
Thank you, John.
Best Wishes, Mark.
Many have been bullet voting for years in an attempt to get dark horse candidates elected. I humbly suggest the website be a little more clear about the ask: is it to vote for these 28 candidates AND ONLY these candidates, is there any value to voting for just a subset, and would adding someone like Shuell hurt or help the 28? I mean, is bullet voting still a good idea and how does it apply to a raft of 28 +- a few in no-man’s land? I would use that term explicitly on the website so people who have been using this guidance can cognitively associate these efforts.
Also, I know the ballot list is scrambled so one ballot doesn’t look the same as another necessarily, but pics of an example ballot would help too (with disclaimer that candidates may not appear in same order on your ballot).
I will pass this comment on to Rocky and Buz.
Much like Bill I’d like a bullet list of say 20 names to focus on last year’s five. Concentrate all our votes on a core 20 this year. If we scatter out we lose the power to force change.
The strategy this year is a bit different. I just got off the phone with Buz Mills who is working to push out the cabal. As he explained it to me, he strategy is to vote a full slate of reformers. 26 who are on the ballot and two write-in candidates for a total of 28. The working strategy is to make it so there is not any open spots on your ballot for one of the cabal to sneak in.
Some of the cabal members have been there for years and have their own constituencies. People like Bob Barr, Tom King, Sandy Froman, and Joel Friedman among others.
Bill,
The strategy this year is to fill every seat, plus the top three or four “also-ran” positions.
Twenty eight seats are up for election and the reform group has put forward 28 endorsed candidates.
My personal approach to the situation is as follows:
Number 1. Block the most influential, intransigent, “cabal” incumbents from reelection.
Number 2. Elect as many pro-reform NEW candidates as possible.
Number 3. Split the remaining votes between pro-reform incumbents and unaffiliated NEW candidates.
I’m encouraging every eligible voter to vote a full slate this year, while the other side is now calling for bullet voting, trying to get their handful of incumbents reelected. (My how the tables have turned.)
I know that many reform-minded voters don’t trust some of the incumbents on the reform slate. I also know that a few of the unaffiliated NEW candidates (Like Mark Shuell) are openly embracing the reform agenda, so my advice is: Vote for every candidate on the reform list that you’re comfortable supporting, then fill any remaining seats with votes for unaffiliated NEW candidates.
I think reformers will fairly easily win 20 or more seats, the challenge is in the 6 to 8 seats that are really going to be up for grabs. Bob Barr is well known and has a regular article in every issue of the NRA magazines. Sandy Froman is a past President and is well known and liked. Both she and John Sigler, as past presidents, are already on the Executive Council, so even if they fail in their reelection bid, they will still be able to attend Board meetings and have voice, but no vote. Tom King is President of the NYSRPA and will get a lot of support from that group. Joel Friedman failed in his reelection bid last year, but was able to win the 76th Director seat at the Annual Meeting, so he got back on the Board that way.
It’s important to remember that there will be an election for the 76th Director seat in Atlanta, and we typically lose a couple of Directors each year to death or resignation, which means the people who came in 29th, 30th, and 31st still have a chance of moving back onto the Board.
We need to be sure reform-minded candidates come in as not just the top 28 vote-getters, but also all the way down to about number 33 in the voting.
I’ll have a breakdown of the candidates and my voting recommendations published on Ammoland.com and maybe in Firearms News (depending on deadlines) as we get closer to actual voting.
Thanks — Jeff
Jeff – A quick correction. Joel Friedman did not win the 76th Director position last year. That was Jim Wallace. However, Friedman was the next runner-up and assumed a seat on the Board when Carl Rowan, Jr. resigned which allowed Friedman to get on the Board. I have always wondered what Rowan was promised or what he was threatened with.
Just waiting for my ballot.
Expect it in 2-3 weeks when you get the magazine.
Not sure why Lucretia was left out but she has my vote. My interactions with her over the past years have been good and I know she wants the needed changes with the NRA.