Gun Rights Election Victory Was No Accident

As critiques from news commentators and political analysts about what went wrong with Kamala Harris’ campaign subside, one clear fact emerged from the election – candidates who champion the rights of law-abiding gun owners and support the Second Amendment were swept into office. These victories, achieved despite the Harris/Walz ticket trying to confuse voters with blatant falsehoods about their records and extreme views on gun rights, did not happen by accident. They were achieved, at least in part, in response to a broad backlash against soft-on-crime policies and assaults on the rights of peaceable citizens.    

Mobilizing gun owners as a key voting constituency was a crucial aspect of this groundswell.  

This election cycle, the NRA established clear goals: return Donald Trump to the White House, secure pro-2A majorities in the U.S. Senate and House, and support strong pro-gun candidates up and down the ballot. To do this we had to educate gun owners about what was at stake and turn out NRA members and other gun owners to the polls in significant numbers.     

Meeting these goals required a strategic and targeted approach. We hosted President Trump at multiple NRA events, bringing motivated voters to him, in person and through our publications. As the race came into clearer focus, we ran radio and digital ads against Confiscation Kamala in the battleground states where this election would be decided.  

To flip the Senate, we made large investments in television ads and voter contacts in Ohio and Montana, to oust incumbents with a record of voting with Joe Biden on anti-gun judges and legislation. In other races across the country, in addition to releasing our unique candidate ratings, we ran digital ads to support strong pro-gun candidates.  Added to that, though perhaps underappreciated in today’s media environment, was a robust direct mail program and grassroots get-out-the-vote effort, producing a 95 percent voter turnout by NRA members, which helped ensure pro-gun candidates carried the day in large percentages. 

In fact, of the over 3,300 federal and state candidates the NRA endorsed this election cycle, approximately 90 percent were victorious. This is a huge win for America’s gun owners and all those who support Second Amendment freedoms.   

While NRA-backed candidates fought for Americans’ constitutional right to protect and defend themselves, the anti-gun extremists fielded the most aggressive anti-Second Amendment ticket in election history with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Even worse, Harris/Walz strategists attempted to hide their candidate’s disdain for gun owners by recasting Harris as a “stand your ground” gun owner, who repeatedly claimed she wasn’t interested in taking anyone’s guns. Voters saw through this cynical ploy, just as they did on a host of other issues on which Harris did a complete 180-degree reversal.  

So, despite attacks from activist organizations and their media allies that sought to tarnish the NRA and other pro-gun groups, as well as massive spending from gun control groups, gun owners are celebrating banner election results. 

 Now with a clear mandate from voters, we look forward to advancing a common sense, pro-Second Amendment agenda. This must start with rolling back regulatory actions taken by the Biden administration that were intended to frustrate and limit gun ownership.  It should also include revoking Biden’s eleventh-hour executive order, no doubt designed for election impact, as well as dismantling the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. 

We look forward to working with the Trump administration and the 119th Congress on legislation that expands gun rights and grants citizens the right to carry their firearms in all 50 states. President Trump has expressed his support saying, ”I will protect the right of self-defense everywhere it is under siege, and I will sign concealed carry reciprocity. Your Second Amendment does not end at the state line.” 

Such a law would allow citizens to lawfully carry their firearms from state to state without fear of running afoul of local statutes. Currently, 10 states and our nation’s capital, Washington D.C., do not honor concealed carry permits from other states, creating a legal minefield for law-abiding citizens who carry firearms routinely for self-defense. 

 No doubt gun control advocates, spurred by their deep-pocketed donors, will regroup and renew their attacks on legal gun ownership. But their hyperbolic language and scare tactics might finally be wearing thin with audiences. Early national exit polls showed that voters trusted President Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris, 52 percent to 46 percent, in handling the issue of crime and safety. 

Among other things, this election made it clear that candidates who strongly support the Second Amendment and who reject misguided calls to take guns away from law-abiding citizens will see continued success in elections. It also showed that groups that can mobilize votes from hunters and gun owners to support those candidates, a role the NRA has filled for decades, are essential both for electoral results and the preservation of our constitutional right to keep and bear arms.