by This will be my third and final round of endorsements. I know I have left many good people off the list. However, as things stand as of today, a total of 35 candidates will be elected out of a pool of 37. My last post regarding the most recent resignations breaks it down. My goal is only endorsing a total of 13 candidates is to see these 13 win three-year terms. My earlier endorsements are here and here.
My final five are in alphabetical order Charles Brown, R. Todd Figard, Jim Porter, David Raney, and Bruce Widener. They are all on the ballot by nomination and all five are part of the ElectANewNRA team.
Charles Brown
Charlie is the owner of MKS Supply which distributes Hi-Point and Inland Firearms. While he has passed the day to day operations of the company to the next generation, his expertise in management and experience in the firearms industry would be a distinctive asset to the NRA. He was part of the NRA 2.0 ticket in 2025 as a write-in candidate. He was forced to run as a write-in and not as a petition candidate due to back to back hurricanes. While he had enough signatures to make the ballot, they did not arrive in time and the bylaws provided absolutely no leeway.
Richard Todd Figard
Todd is now on the Board filling a position left empty by one of the many Old Guard resignations. He was a petition candidate in the 2025 race on the ElectANewNRA team and is again running as a reformer in 2026. He is a quality engineer by training with decades of experience. He is a competitor, a trainer, RSO, and serves as the Lead Firearms Inspector (for safety) at both the NRA Annual Meeting and the Great American Outdoor Show.
In terms of committee service, Todd has stepped up. He is on Clubs & Associations, Gun Collectors, Youth, Programs, Education & Training, and Pistol. From my conservations with Todd both before and during the recent NRA board meeting, I think Todd will be a work horse and not a show horse. That is exactly what the board needs going forward.
Jim Porter
Jim chairs the Legal Affairs Committee, is a past NRA president, and is a trustee of the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund. Jim broke with the Old Guard over the shenanigans of Bill Brewer and lost his chairmanship as a result. His motion on the agenda in the Spring 2024 was what paved the way for the reformers to take charge even if they lost the presidency.
I had a long conversation with Jim over dinner at the recent NRA Winter Board Meeting. It made clear that his split with Wayne and the Old Guard cost him many old friends which pains him to this day. Among other things I learned about Jim was that he actually played football for Alabama when Bear Bryant was their head coach. Of course, I had to inform Jim that my alma mater, Guilford College, was responsible for Bear Bryant’s first win as a head coach when at the University of Maryland. My bottom line is that I have an immense amount of respect for Jim Porter and think we need his knowledge and institutional memory of the Board as we go forward.
David Raney
David is a history professor at Hillsdale College. His specialties are American history and the Second Amendment. David actually interned with NRA-ILA while in college. He serves with me on the Legislative Policy Committee and is a voice for transparency. His other committee are Ethics for which he is well suited and NRA Media.
In the NRA Board meetings we sit by alphabetical order (like elementary school kids). David is my seatmate. He has always impressed me as a voice of reason full of quiet intelligence with a good bit of humor thrown in.
Bruce Widener
Bruce is what I consider a work horse on the Board. He has put his head down and gotten to work. He isn’t flashy but does bring a depth of experience to the Board. He has served as both a legislative lobbyist and as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives. I would hope that in the future he might serve on the Legislative Policy Committee. He is a hunter both here and in Africa and is an advocate for bringing women into the shooting sports. Indeed, he is the only man serving the NRA’s Women’s Programs Committee.
Bruce also serves on the Executive Committee and had his run-ins with the Old Guard. As he says on his ElectANewNRA bio, he proudly supported the Patriots (i.e. reformers) taking over the NRA.
