National Rifle Association Issues Georgia Endorsements

The folks over at the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund have issued their endorsements for next week’s elections. In general, the NRA issues a grade to each incumbent and candidate, based on their votes and/or responses to an NRA questionnaire. Candidates with no record or who did not return the questionnaire are not rated. Candidates or incumbents with A or A+ ratings receive the NRA endorsement.

At the top of the ticket, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump and VP candidate Mike Pence wins the organization’s endorsement. GOP Senator Johnny Isakson earns an endorsement with an A rating, while Democratic candidate Jim Barksdale received an F rating, defined as “A consistent anti-gun candidate who always opposes gun owners’ rights and/or actively leads anti-gun legislative efforts, or sponsors anti-gun legislation.”

In the U.S. House, the only incumbent Republican not to earn an A or A+ rating was the 7th District’s Rob Woodall, who got a B. Due to incumbency, 2nd District Rep Sanford Bishop got endorsed over challenger Greg Duke, who earned an Aq (the Q means that the candidate has no voting record, and is scored only on the response to the questionnaire.) 14th district Rep. Tom Graves was the only House member to earn an A+ rating, No endorsements were made in districts 4, 5, 7 and 13.

In the State Senate, every Republican incumbent won the group’s endorsement, with the exception of Hunter Hill, who earned a B+, and Fran Millar, who received a C+ score. GOP candidates receiving an Aq endorsement include Blake Tillery, Lee Anderson, and James Morrow. Senators with A+ ratings include Tyler Harper, Josh McKoon, Frank Ginn, David Shafer, Jeff Mullis, Butch Miller, Bill Heath, and Steve Gooch.

As in the Senate, every GOP incumbent won the endorsement of the NRA, with the exception of Wendell Willard, who received a C, and Beth Beskin, who received a B. Also notable, Democratic candidate Vernon Jones received an A, the only Democrat to do so. It appears many first-time House candidates did not return their questionnaires, but of those that did, Republicans DeWayne Hill, Matt Gurtler, Todd Jones, Matt Vaughn, Lane Flynn, Scott Hilton, Gene King, Ricky Williams, Greg Morris, and Don Hogan earned NRA endorsements. Republican incumbents earning A+ ratings include John Meadows, David Ralston, Rick Jasperse, Mandi Ballinger, Alan Powell, and Ed Setzler.