2006 Senate Elections - Who Is Pro-Gun

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Bartholomew Roberts

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Here are some contested seats for the 2006 Senate elections. These are the seats where the race is close and includes their GOA grade (note GOA grades do not include votes for the 2006 session):
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FLORIDA
D Bill Nelson (2000-?) - GOA - Not Rated (as in refused to fill out or return the questionaire - usually means strong anti)
R Katharine Harris - GOA C

MARYLAND D Sarbanes - retiring (1976-2006) GOA F- (see www.mcrkba.org)
D Ben Cardin, Most likely anti-gun.
R Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, no info. See Lambo's comments

MICHIGAN
D Deb Stabenow (2000-?) GOA F-
R Mike Bouchard, former Oakland Co. Sheriff - returned very positive pro-gun questionairre (see comments by Barbara below)

MINNESOTA D Dayton GOA F - retiring
D Amy Klobuchar - See halvey's comments
R Rep. Mark Kennedy - NRA Endorsed candidate (see above link)

MISSOURI
R Jim Talent (2002-?) GOA B, Talent won the 2002 midterm elections and supported us during the fight to kill the AWB/pass gun lawsuit reform. However, the Dems are mounting a hard effort to get rid of him in his first reelection bid and the polls are close.
D Claire McCaskill, no info - lost the 2004 governor's race. Has a reputation as a gun grabber (see Bruce's comments below).

MONTANA
R Conrad Burns (1988-?) GOA B, as of July 11, Burns has the lowest approval rating in the country.
D John Tester - no info

NEBRASKA
D Ben Nelson (2000-?) GOA F - Nelson was polling very weakly; but the GOP had trouble finding a candidate to run against him all the same.
R Pete Ricketts - no info, Pro-2A comment on his website (http://petericketts.com/about_issues.asp). Says he supports the 2A; but not clear whether he supports it like John Kerry or supports it like Larry Craig.

NEW JERSEY D Corzine (2000-?) - GOA F-, running for Governor/open seat
D Robert Menendez - no info; but personally appointed by Corzine to fill out his term in 2004. List gun issues under "Crime" on his website, wants to release ATF trace data to the public. Likely no friend of ours.
R Tom Kean Jr. - no info; but apparently part of a NJ political dynasty and already polling well against the incumbent

OHIO
R Mike DeWine (1994-?) GOA F
D Sherrod Brown - no info; reputed to be as bad as Dewine on guns; but can replacing Dewine be a bad choice? Only worry here is any D vote puts us one step closer to Leahy or Teddy Kennedy as Chairman of the Judiciary.

PENNSYLVANIA
R Rick Santorum (1994-?) GOA C, very close race - Santorum trailing
D Bob Casey Jr - no info

RHODE ISLAND - See http://www.cralri.com/ for more info on Rhode Island Gun Rights.
R Lincoln Chafee (2000-?) GOA F-, (conservative Cranston, RI Mayor Stephen Laffey came within 6% of winning)
D Sheldon Whitehouse - Former AG, (reputed to be a strong anti)

TENNESSEE R Frist (1994-2006) - GOA D (though Frist was essential in stopping the AWB renewal and passing lawsuit protection, don't know what problem GOA has with him) retiring, open seat
R Bob Corker, no info - former Chattanooga mayor. Strong pro-2nd comments on website "As Senator, I will protect the Second Amendment’s guarantee of our right to bear arms and reject attempts to limit the freedom of law-abiding gun owners. The best way to stop crime is to capture and imprison criminals—not to impose new burdens on law-abiding citizens."
D Harold Ford, GOA F and already getting much media attention. Avoids gun issue entirely on his website.

VERMONT I Jeffords (1988-2006) - GOA D-, retiring, open seat - Primary is Sept. 12
I Bernie Sanders, GOA F, former Vermont House Rep.
R Richard Tarrant, buisnessman, no info yet

VIRGINIA
R George Allen - GOA C
D James Webb - former SecNav under Reagan, noted author and decorated Vietnam-era Marine, jumped from R party to run against Allen as a D. no info yet; but see Bubbles' comments. No mention of RKBA.

WASHINGTON
D Maria Cantwell (2000-?) GOA F, won her 2000 Senate race by a mere 2,000 votes and hasn't improved her popularity any. Excellent chance to get rid of an anti by turning out pro-gun voters.
R Mike McGavick - no info; but likely better than Cantwell in any case. See Diamondback 6's comments.

WEST VIRGINIA
D Byrd (1958-?) GOA F - kind of a dark horse chance; but Byrd is getting old (89)
R John Raese (NRA endorsed candidate), nice pro-2A statement on website.
========================================================

As you can see, we have lots of opportunities to get rid of some really bad Senate votes on RKBA. Even if we don't replace them with strong pro-RKBA votes, we do replace them with junior Senators with less power and less ability to get good committees.

We also have at least two B-rated Senators who are in a tight spot and could use your help. If anybody has any additional information about pro-RKBA candidates running for open seats or pro-RKBA info, please chime in and share what you know. Hopefully, we can not only be well-informed come November, we can help inform other gun owners as well.
 
Why was Virginia omitted? Allen is losing ground to the Democrat, it's only going to get closer.
 
So tell us what you know about Allen, his challenger and the poll numbers. The chart above is only as good as the input from other THR members.
 
Note that "Not rated" means the questionnaire, in the absence of a voting record for a new Senator, was not honored, filled out, and submitted, a quite negative classification.
 
I don't understand the GOA ranking system. Nelson of NE voted against the AWB extension and for gun owner immunity. You'd think that'd be worth more than an F.

If you don't reward pols for voting with you, what the heck do you expect them to do?
 
GOA ratings do not include an incomplete 2006 session, as I pointed out previously in another thread. Both of the votes cited occurred in 2006. They are certainly noteworthy, and anyone is free to attribute their own import to them.

Keep in mind that the Dems were quite aware that they had been politically burned by the AWB, and Bill Clinton went so far as to say it cost them the White House or a chance of regaining a majority in either house of Congress. There are 22 die hard leftists/obstructionists in the Senate, so that leaves a number of Dem votes that can go in other directions, when the caucus is not resolved to be in lock step.
 
AS for Rhode Island, Sheldon Whitehouse is no friend to gun onwers. Chafee (anti) is running against challenger Steve Laffey who is somewhat pro-gun. Trouble is that Laffey will never beat Whitehouse. Chafee can. I'd rather have Chafee just to keep the seat in the Senate. Whitehouse is the mastermind behind the CCW restrictions in RI.

Any RI members can check out www.cralri.com for more info on Whitehouse and the current AG race in RI.
 
Bouchard beat Butler in the primary and is the candidate for the Republican party.

He's ok. He is courting the pro-gun vote and his survey for our PAC was the highest of anyone in the state (ok, that means he knows what to say, but he was willing to put it in writing which is a good sign.)

He also hunts as does his 16 year old daughter, so guns are a part of his life to a certain extent.

The biggest issue seems to be a lot of disorganization in his campaign which will hopefully improve here shortly.

Running against Stabenow, he's the only candidate.
 
Thanks for the info everyone, I've updated the chart accordingly. Also, if you know who won a primary (Thanks Barbara) or when the primary election will be held, please share that info as well.

Also even if your state isn't close, I'll be more than happy to add info from any gunowners who want to share that with the rest of us. Hopefully, we can build a nice one-stop shopping resource for gun owners to see what is happening in their Senate race.
 
I've been curious about Casey. He seems to have a decent pro-2nd stance from what little I can find. Santorum has been great so far, but sadly, that's the only beliefs of his I stand behind.

Randy
 
Intel about McGavick, from a Washington resident: He's a "Mainstream Republican", a McCainiac just like WA SecState Reed. "Reagan conservatives" will probably find him more tolerable than Cantwell, but still sorely lacking.

He's a Bush Leaguer on immigration issues, and I'd suspect he's keeping silent on firearms isssues for a reason: What he doesn't say, we can't hold against him. He's probably hoping we'll interpret his silence as better than Can'tvotewell's record no matter what.

I'm not voting for him--I'm voting against Cantwell.
 
George Allen has introduced a CCW bill in the US Senate.

Jim Webb jumped from Republican to Democrat just to run against Allen.

Both Casey and Santorum in PA are very pro life and that has turned a lot of voters off on that race.

Ben Nelson (NE) is the most pro gun Democrat in the US Senate but that is not saying much. However he did support letting the AWB lapse unlike all the other Senate Dems.

I don't see how you can be anti gun and win statewide in Nebraska.

Still I'd vote Republican there because Nelson is a minority in his party (pro gun senate Dem)
 
OHIO
R DeWine (1994-?) GOA F
D Sherrod Brown - no info; but can replacing Dewine be a bad choice? Only worry here is any D vote puts us one step closer to Leahy or Teddy Kennedy as Chairman of the Judiciary.
Click to expand...
DeWine and Sherrod Brown are completely interchangeable on gun control. You couldn't tell them apart from each other [and Voinovich] with a DNA test. On gun control, they're clones of each other.

I once put DeWine's campaign HQ number out on usenet talk.politics.guns. This was right after he voted for the AWB. I'm told quite a few gunowners called. Towards the end, his campaign workers were supposedly getting quite rude...
 
As far as I know, Burns has always casted pro-gun votes. However, he did co-sponsor Mccain's gag bill.

Tester, so far, hasn't commented on his stand on the 2nd. I've sent him 3 letters so far without a response. Something just strikes me as wierd about Tester.
 
Another Buckeye sick of RINOs

Deanimator is quite right about DeWine. He had two primary challengers this year, a third John Mitchell dropped out prior to the primary. Those two guys took more than a quarter million votes. This shows the disgust of the base of the GOP with Senator DeWine......pity they did not unseat him as both Smith and Pierce would have been a great improvement. Sherod Brown the dem and very antigun was apparently very offended when Sarah Brady gave DeWine her endorsement.

Here is what I have to say to my fellow Buckeyes about this November. There is one reason and one reason only to vote for Mike in my view. The President needs a Republican majority in the US Senate and especially so if there are any more vacancies on the US Supreme Court. This is possible as Stevens is getting up in his years and Ginsburg has cancer. Been known to lay her head down and sleep during arguments lately. If the President gets those openings then he needs a Republican majority to get more conservative, hopefully strict constructionist (thus hopefully will read the second amendment correctly) Justices. If the Dems pick up the Senate then Charlie Schumer and Teddy Kennedy will determine who will sit on the Court.......a chilling thought. Moving the court further to the right, and thus pro gun is more important than anything else. This will be a hedge against Democrats in the White House and if they get control of congress. Supreme Court Justices sit on that court for decades in most cases. So I am going to pinch my nose til it bleed to vote for him......but I am going to hate it. I am also going to work hard in six years to unseat him in the primary of 2012. But for now......as a gun owner who cares about the future, I think that is our choice. But I am not happy about it.:banghead:
 
Mike Dewhine is far more conservative than Brown

Voting for Brown to punish Dewhine in the gen election does not accomplish a thing.

BOTH support gun control.

Only one (Mike) would support Bush's supreme court nominees.
 
UT Dem Pete Ashdown's statement on guns (running against Orrin Hatch)

The right of Utah citizens to own and use weapons for personal and public defense is mentioned in both the US Bill of Rights and also in the Utah State Constitution. As a Senator, I will support those Constitutional rights to responsibly own and use guns. The State of Utah is primarily responsible for defining what constitutes legal use of guns for the citizens of the state and the current laws seem to be reasonable and working as they presently exist.

I would like to see cooperation on both sides of the issue to reduce the motivations for gun violence. The U.S. should work to eliminate poverty, ignorance, and despair as these are prime motivators for crime and its subsequent violence. Reactive approaches are all too often the short term patch, where the proactive approach is best for the long term.
Click to expand...
 
MINNESOTA D Dayton GOA F - retiring
D two leading candidates Amy Klobuchar and Ford Bell, no info
R two leading candidates - Rep. Mark Kennedy and John Uldrich, no info
Click to expand...
No info? This must be out of date.

That said, this race is Kennedy v. Klobuchar

Klobuchar is an anti, Kennedy is a pro-gun NRA endorsed canidate.
 
Just a reminder, Primaries are coming up in many states on Sept. 9 and Sept. 12 - see glennv's comments on Rhode Island for one example of where a pro-gun candidate is leading in the primaries to replace an anti-gun candidate.
 
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