mid-term elections

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NRA-ILA’s Assessment of Mid-Term Elections

November 8, 2010 by

In an email sent out today by the NRA-ILA, they had this assessment of the mid-term elections with regards to gun rights:

U.S. Senate

* 19 of NRA-PVF’s 25 endorsed U.S. Senate candidates won. This marks a pro-gun upgrade of eight Senate seats.
* In the 111th Congress, there were 43 A-rated and 34 F-rated Senators. The 112th Congress will contain 50 A-rated (+7) and 33 F-rated Senators (-1).
* There will be 12 pro-gun Senate freshmen.

U.S. House

* Of the 262 candidates endorsed by the NRA-PVF for the U.S. House, 225 were victorious, for an 85% winning percentage. In every case but one where an NRA-PVF endorsed candidate lost, a pro-gun challenger replaced him.
* In the 111th Congress, there were 226 A-rated and 151 F-rated Representatives. The 112th Congress will contain 258 A-rated (+32) and 133 F-rated (-18) Members.
* There were pro-gun election upgrades in 27 House districts.

Note: As of today, 9 races remain too close to call.

Gubernatorial & State Legislatures

* Of the 21 gubernatorial candidates endorsed by the NRA-PVF, 15 were victorious. (Note: Two races remain too close to call.)
* We made major gains in state legislative races, which will position us well in the upcoming legislative sessions next year.

If one uses the NRA endorsements and grades as the measure, it certainly does appear that there is a majority of A-rated members of Congress in both houses.

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GRNC vs NRA – And the Winner Is….

November 3, 2010 by 1 Comment

Neither.

In the two races where Grass Roots North Carolina and the NRA sparred over endorsements, they each won one race.

In the 11th Congressional District, Heath Shuler won 54% of the vote or about a 20,000 vote margin. Until I have the complete precinct by precinct results, I can only speculate his win came because he took the Democrat (and hippie) stronghold of Asheville big while holding his own in the rest of the district.

Both candidates in this race were rated A by the NRA so gun rights won’t suffer though I might not say the same for civil rights given Shuler’s votes on union card check and the DISCLOSE Act. I will also say the race was vicious with the negative ads starting almost immediately after Labor Day.

The other race where GRNC worked to defeat a candidate with the NRA’s endorsement was between NC House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman (D-Davidson Co) and the Republican challenger Rayne Brown. GRNC targeted Holliman for his refusal to push for a vote on a Castle Doctrine bill that had already passed the State Senate. It was held in the Judiciary I committee by the chair Deborah Ross (D-Wake).

Rayne Brown won almost 58% of the vote in her successful effort to unseat Holliman. Brown had been ranked 4 stars in the GRNC’s 0 to 4 star ranking system. Her victory knocked off the number two Democrat in the General Assembly.

In general, this was a good election for gun owners in North Carolina. Control of the North Carolina General Assembly appears to have completely switched hands from Democrat to Republican. If the close races hold up, it will be the first time in over a century that the GOP has controlled both houses of the General Assembly. I anticipate that this time the Castle Doctrine will be enacted as will changes to the NC law enacting a ban on off-premises possession and carry of firearms during declared states of emergency.

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Cry Me A River

October 23, 2010 by

Colbert King, in an op-ed in today’s Washington Post, laments that the expected increase in the number of conservatives and Republicans in Congress after mid-term elections doesn’t bode well for the District of Columbia’s autonomy. Pardon me if I am not sympathetic especially when he writes:

What’s more, a new Congress, under Republican influence, is likely to give the District more of what it doesn’t want.

Expect, for example, a renewed effort to weaken D.C. gun laws and restrict the D.C. Council’s regulation of firearms. Gun-rights forces tried to do that this year when they attached pro-gun language that ultimately derailed voting rights legislation. The Nov. 2 elections, if all goes as predicted, will only strengthen their hands.

I guess we should be happy that the District has been run by foolish politicians or we never would have gotten the Heller decision. Mayor Adrian Fenty’s intransigence led to DC’s appeal of the Court of Appeals win for Dick Heller. This, in turn, led to the Supreme Court acknowledging, finally and concretely, that the Second Amendment is an individual right.

So to assuage Mr. King’s sorrow, I send him this nice rendition of “Cry Me A River” sung by Susan Boyle.