Jeff Fleetham Archives -

Two More Resignations

Yesterday, Jeff Fleetham resigned from the Board of Directors. He had been filling the seat left open by the resignation of Charles Cotton at the end of October 2025. While I did notice him on a couple of our online Board meetings, I had not met him in person.

Today, John Frazer sent out an email stating the Ronnie Barrett had resigned from the Board of Directors. Given Ronnie was also the Vice-Chair of the NRA Foundation’s Board of Trustees, I am going to assume it is related to the lawsuit filed yesterday by the NRA against the NRA Foundation. I can’t say any more about the lawsuit than to point you to the public statement regarding it.

From John Frazer:

Board member Ronnie Barrett has resigned as well. Please join us in thanking him for the time he’s given the NRA.

The Board now stands at 73 members. Because Mr. Barrett’s term would have expired in 2027, his resignation creates a one-year vacancy to be filled by the mail ballot. Members will now vote for the following seats:

Twenty-five three-year terms that expire in 2029

Four two-year terms that expire in 2028

Four one-year terms that expire in 2027

Add to this the 76th Director voted on at the NRA Annual Meeting and you have a total of 34 directors elected in 2026. Given there are only 38 names on the ballot, this means virtually everyone nominated by either the Nominating Committee or petition will be elected.

I will have my second round of endorsements up later today. I am almost to the point of saying who should NOT be given your vote!

As to Ronnie leaving the Board, this saddens me because I thought he made a substantial contribution to it especially chairing the Special Committee on Organization and Leadership. I had dinner and lunch with Ronnie and his lovely wife Donna at our September meeting which led to some good conversations.

Charles Cotton Resigns From NRA BOD

I had heard rumors of this earlier today but I just received an email from NRA Secretary John Frazer confirming that former NRA President Charles Cotton has resigned from the NRA Board.

Board member and past President Charles Cotton has resigned from the Board and Executive Council, effective immediately.

Tom King was the next runner-up in the 2025 election, but has declined to serve. Jeff Fleetham has accepted the position and will fill the vacancy until the adjournment of the 2026 Members’ Meeting. Mr. Cotton’s term would have expired in 2026, so no additional candidate will be elected to fill the vacancy.

As to why Cotton resigned, there is no official word. However, he had no committee assignments and did not attend the September Board meeting in Virginia. Additionally, he was not re-nominated for the 2026 Board election by the Nominating Committee nor did he apparently gather enough signatures to make the ballot by petition. He does remain a current trustee of the NRA Foundation.

Fleetham had attempted to run by petition for the 2026 Board election according to his earlier posts on Facebook. However, he did not gather enough signatures to make it on to the ballot. In the last election, he was part of the Strong NRA ticket.

Fleetham is a resident of Mesa, Arizona. According to his official bio in last year’s election, he was a 2016 and 2020 RNC delegate for President Trump. He served on the Arizona Register of Contractors for a number of years as a director. His business background is in the construction industry.

He will serve the remainder of Cotton’s term which expires at the close of the Meeting of Members in Houston.