by 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.