RKBA guide to Senate races?

[Langenator]

This thread made me think: is there anywhere one can find a consolidated listing of all of the various Senate races this year, with all of the candidates, and their positions, especially with relation to RKBA, to include GOA ratings if available?

The threadstarter is pushing an "A" rated candidate for Senate in Louisiana, running against an opponent with a "C" rating. I have previously pushing an "A-" rated challenger to my current "F" rated Senator.

I ask because members of this board have not, in the past, been shy about doing what they can to advance the RKBA cause, and help, mostly in the form of $$, in a few key Senate races may greatly help the cause.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Click here for GOA 2004 Election Guide

Note: GOA grades reflect those issued in February 2003 and don't include the latest votes from this March. GOA NR means Not Rated and simply means I couldn't find any GOA rating listed for them (pretty common with state level politicians).

I've also included how they voted in March on four major amendments - the Boxer gun lock amendment, the Feinstein AWB renewal amendment, the Kennedy ammo-ban amendment, and the McCain gunshow background check amendment.

Incumbent is listed first, no third-party candidates were listed unless they were polling above 10%

* indicates a possible candidate; but could change by general election

Alabama:
Richard Shelby (R) - GOA B - 100% pro-gun in March
Jim Folsom Jr.* (D) - GOA NR, former Governor

Alaska:
Lisa Murkowski (R) - GOA NR, 75% pro-gun in March, voted for Boxer
Tony Knowles (D) - GOA NR - According to website, would have voted same as Murkowski in March

Arizona:
John McCain (R) - GOA C-, 50% pro-gun in March, supported McCain and Boxer.

Arkansas:
Blanche Lincoln (D) - GOA F, 25% pro gun in March, supported McCain, Boxer, Feinstein
Jim Holt (R)- GOA NR - Strong pro-gun stand (no AWB renewal) on website

California:
Barbara Boxer (D) - GOA F-, 0% pro gun in March - supported them all, even ammo ban
Bill Jones (R) - GOA NR, No mention of guns on campaign website, Also supports ban renewal

Colorado:
No incumbent, Nighthorse-Campbell (R) Retiring
Pete Coors (R) - GOA NR Failed to return questionaire - Mentions Second Amendment on website. Participated in NRA Advertising Campaign. Announced in press opposition to AWB as well as support for repealing Lautenberg Amendment, and large sections of 1968 GCA and 1934 NFA
Ken Salazar (D) - GOA NR, Colorado AG during Columbine. Signed MMM Card supporting ban renewal. More on his anti-gun policy at this thread from AR15.com.

Connecticut:
Christopher Dodd (D) - GOA F-, 0% pro-gun in March
Jack Orlucchi (R)* - GOA NR, No info; but could he be any worse?

Florida:
No incumbent. Graham (D) Retiring.
Mel Martinez (R) - GOA NR, Only candidate to mention the Second Amendment on his website. Has come out with public opposition to AWB Renewal. Tied in polls with Castor.
Betty Castor (D) - GOA NR, supports Brady Bill, criticized the Eddie Eagle program for Florida schools,

More to follow...

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

GOA 2004 Election Guide

Georgia:
No incumbent. Miller (D) retiring.
Johnny Isakson (R) - GOA B-, Opposes semi-auto ban, supports frivolous lawsuit protection for gun manufacturers as well as trigger lock laws
Denise Majette (D) - GOA NR, no mention of guns on her website

Hawaii:
Daniel Inouye (D) - GOA F, 0% pro-gun votes in March, no serious opposition.

Idaho:
Mike Crapo (R) - GOA B, 100% pro-gun vote in March, no serious opposition

Illinois:
No incumbent. Fitzgerald (R) retiring.
Barack Obama (D)- GOA NR, no mention of guns; but endorsed by multiple grabbers
Alan Keyes (R) - GOA NR, Mentions Second Amendment as issue - Has historically supported Second Amendment in speeches, never held national elective office.

Indiana:
Evan Bayh (D) - GOA F, 0% pro-gun vote in March. No serious opposition.

Iowa:
Charles Grassley (R) - GOA C, 75% pro-gun vote in March. Supported Boxer.
Arthur Small (D) - GOA NR, no info found except has raised $0 for campaign as of June 8th. Not really serious opposition.

Kansas:
Sam Brownback (R) - GOA B, 75% pro-gun vote in March. Supported Boxer. No serious opposition.

Kentucky:
Jim Bunning (R) - GOA B, 100% pro-gun vote in March.
Dan Mongiardo (D) - GOA NR, no mention of guns on website.

Louisiana:
No incumbent. Breaux (D) retiring.
Chris John (D) - GOA C, Supports individual rights interpretation of Second Amendment. Looks like a duck hunter to me.
John Kennedy (D) - GOA NR, former state treasurer, no website or info.
David Vitter (R) - GOA A-, Upfront stance on 2A on website

Maryland:
Barbara Mikulski (D) - GOA F-, 0% pro-gun vote in March.
E. J. Pipkin (R) - GOA NR, no info as website was down but can't be any worse

Missouri:
Christopher S. Bond (R) - GOA C, 100% pro-gun vote in March
Nancy Farmer (D) - GOA NR, Endorsed by the Brady Campaign and proud of it

Nevada:
Harry Reid (D) - GOA F, 50% pro-gun vote in March. Supported Boxer and McCain.
Kenneth Wegner (R) - GOA NR, cheesy website with no mention of RKBA.
Jack Woodcock (R) - GOA NR, Former realtor running for Senate, no other info found.
Richard Ziser (R) - GOA NR, Vague support of 2A statement on website[/ur]. Not much; but better than Reid.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

GOA 2004 Election Guide

New Hampshire:
Judd Gregg (R) - GOA C-, 50% pro-gun vote in March. Supported Feinstein and Boxer.
Likely Democratic competitor bailed leaving him with no serious opposition at this time.

New York:
Chuckles Schumer (D) - GOA F-, Need I say more? 0% pro-gun in March. No serious opposition sadly.

North Carolina:
No incumbent. Edwards (D) retiring.
Dan Blue (D) - GOA NR, no info or website
Erskine Bowles (D) - GOA F, no mention of guns on website; but previous career as chief of staff for Clinton. Ran for Senate and lost to Dole previously.
Richard Burr (R) - GOA B-, Representative in U.S. House

North Dakota:
Byron Dorgan (D) - GOA F, 25% pro-gun vote in March. Supported Boxer, Feinstein, and McCain.
Mike Liffrig (R) - GOA NR, no mention of guns on website

Ohio:
George Voinovich (R) - GOA D, 25% pro-gun vote in March. Supported Boxer, Feinstein, and McCain.
Eric Fingerhut (D) - No current GOA rating, formerly F, supported Brady and AWB as Congressman. Hardcore grabber, opposed Ohio CCW.

Oklahoma:
No incumbent. Nickles (R) retiring.
Tom Coburn (R) - GOA A+, specifically endorsed by GOA as the most important Senator to get elected in 2004. See this thread.
Brad Carson (D) - GOA B, Strong mention of Second Amendment on website

Oregon:
Ron Wyden (D) - GOA F, 0% pro-gun vote in March.
Al King (R) - GOA NR, No info or website
Dan Fitzgerald (L) - GOA NR, Libertarian candidate, need I say more? Didn't get 10% but has as much chance as King

Pennsylvania:
Arlen Specter (R) - GOA C-, 100% pro-gun vote in March
Joe Hoeffel (D) - GOA F-, Hardcore grabber and proud of it

South Carolina:
No incumbent. Hollings (D) retiring.
Jim DeMint (R) - GOA A, Currently a Congressman. We all know GOA doesn't give away A's to just anyone.
Inez Tenenbaum (D) - GOA NR, no mention of guns on her website

South Dakota:
Tom Daschle (D) - GOA F, 25% pro-gun vote in March. Supported Boxer, McCain, Feinstein. Definitely not our buddy.
John Thune (R) - GOA B (2002), In a tight race with Daschle...hmmm, B or F?

Utah:
Robert Bennett (R) - GOA D, 75% pro-gun vote in March. Supported Boxer. Don't know what he did to piss off GOA; but voted right in March.
Paul Van Dam (D) - GOA NR, no info or website

Vermont:
Patrick Leahy (D) - GOA F-, 0% pro-gun vote in March. No serious opposition. Vote for the Libertarian guy anyway.

Washington:
Patty Murray (D) - GOA F, 0% pro-gun vote in March.
Reed Davis (R) - GOA NR, no info, website doesn't work
George Nethercutt (R) - GOA A-, Currently a Congressman.

Wisconsin:
Russ Feingold (D) - GOA F, 25% pro-gun vote in March. Supported Kennedy ammo-ban, Boxer, and McCain but opposed Feinstein semi-auto ban renewal. Guess it must be an election year.
Russ Darrow (R) - GOA NR, no mention of RKBA on his website
Tim Michels (R) - GOA NR, mentions Second Amendment mainly in context of hunting. Eh.
Bob Welch (R) - GOA NR, Supports 2A as individual right. Endorsed by NRA

Remember folks, a 0% March vote is a serious hardcore grabber. They voted to ban .30-30 ammo specifically by name. They supported all the gun control amendments.

 

[Frohickey]

S1805 AWB amendment

I'm contributing to the opponents of Senators that voted for this amendment.

 

[Langenator]

Bart-that's an awesome summation! Thanks!

I guess the next question is, if folks on here want to give money to campaigns, where would that money be most productive?

When rating productivity, I'm looking at the following factors:

1) the relative positions of the candidates in that state on RKBA

2) whether the more pro-RKBA has a realistic chance of winning

Example: giving money to Republican Al King in Orgeon probably wouldn't be productive, despite his primary opponent's (incumbent) F rating from the GOA, because King has little chance of winning.

I'd also give bonus points to any pro-RKBA challengers who have a realistic chance to unseat an anti-RKBA incumbent (Thune against Daschle in SD, Nethercutt vs Murray in WA), slightly fewer bonus points to a pro-RKBA candidate running for an open seat formerly occupied by an anti.

And there's intangibles, like the morale blow that the lefties would suffer from losing their current Senate leader (Daschle).

GOA ranks Coburn in Oklahoma as their #1 priority. I won't argue-I'm sure they've looked at this much more thoroughly than I have time to.

I'd have to rank Thune vs Daschle in SD as #2. The race is very tight right now, Daschle earns an F from GOA to Thune's B, and dumping Daschle would hurt Lefty morale.

Personally, I put Nethercutt vs Murray in Washington as my #3, but WA is my home state and I loathe Murray, so I'm a bit biased. The race is within 10 points, and Murray gets an F from GOA (A- for Nethercutt). Nethercutt has a minor reputation as a giant-killer, having unseated then Speaker of the House Tom Foley in 1994.
On the downside, I'm on the Nethercutt campaign email list, and so far he hasn't said anytyhing about RKBA. My guess is this is probably strategic, since 2A doesn't play all that well in the Seattle-Tacoma area, and he needs votes from there to win.

Opinions from anyone else?

 

[pittspilot]

I have heard John Thune explicitly state that he thinks that the AWB is bad law and that it must sunset.

 

[Akurat]

Bart - Thank you. Awesome post.

 

[CatsDieNow]

The best source I have found is surprisingly the Brady Campaign

Obviously inversion of the grades is required, but you can see who voted for what with a nice search feature.

My rep got a big fat zero

 

[SodiumBenzoate]

LMAO, Hoeffel makes a pretty good case for Specter on his website, mentioning how Specter has an "A" grade from the NRA and was opposed to all important recent gun legislation, and how he only has a 14% from Brady.

Hoeffel doesn't realize that the NRA is generally liked in Pennsylvania

 

[Moparmike]

For Arkansas, Jim Holt is VERY pro-gun. I am afraid that being a very Bible-thumping Republican will hurt him in the end. Hopefully, Blanche's record will hurt her more.

I have yet to get a letter from her in response to my email's or calls. I got a breif "piss off" email once. At least Pryor will tell you what a hypocrite he is.

 

[Reno]

I'd really like to know what Pete Coors' stance is, the primary is coming up pretty soon.

 

[sctman800]

Illinois

Jack Ryan is definitly pro-gun. Obama is one of Mayor Daley's anti-gun parrots, and is well known to all informed Illinois gun owners. Jim.

 

[Langenator]

South Carolina

The SC GOP race is down to DeMint and Beasley.

For those in Columbia who can listen to a radio at work, there will be a debate on Monday, 21 June, from 3-6 PM Eastern, on 1320 AM. Debate will be mediated by the show's normal host, Kevin Cohen.

Run-off election will be 22 June.

 

[Moparmike]

Jack Ryan is definitly pro-gun.

So he really does react well to bullets? *ducks flying tomato*

 

[grislyatoms]

Only when he's a CIA op wearing a Naval uniform

 

[jobu07]

I note the tone of sadness when you got to new york... Unfortunatly the guy running against Schumer is really just a big joke. He has no chance of winning and never will. And, sadly enough, even if he did win, he's a moderate to liberal republican anyway, so it's not like we'd see a big change there, or even a big supporter of our cause...

 

[sch40]

Wow! Thanks, B.R. for all the info. Does anyone know where I can get some similar info on other elections in my area (specifically, who is trying to beat gov. Holden of MO)?

thanks,
sch40

 

[Langenator]

FYI...the SC GOP Senate runoff is today. Current Congressman DeMint vs former Gov. Beasley.

FWIW, The State, the Columbia paper, favors DeMint. I have no clue as to their editorial slant on RKBA.

But I'll take a known GOA 'A' rated Rep for a promotion to Senator. And given the tenure of SC's last two Senators: Thurmond (42 years) and Hollings (36 years), whoever wins this will likely be there for a while.

 

[WAGCEVP]

VOTE MAC COLLINS!

--------------------------------------------------

Georgia:
No incumbent. Miller (D) retiring.
Al Bartell (R) - GOA NR, no mention of guns on website
Herman Cain (R) - GOA NR, no mention of guns on website
Mac Collins (R) - GOA A, no mention of guns on website
Johnny Isakson (R) - GOA B-, no mention of guns on website
Denise Majette (D) - GOA NR, no mention of guns on her website
Gary Leshaw (D) - GOA NR, no mention of guns on his website
Jim Marshall (D) - GOA NR, Co-sponsored lawsuit protection for gun manufacturers in the House
Mary Squires (D) - GOA NR, gives the "I'm a gun owner myself" line before expressing support for gun show background checks, semi-auto ban renewal and other gun-owning "loopholes"
Nadine Thomas (D) - GOA NR, no mention of guns on her website. Small fry state senator aspiring to higher office.

 

[Langenator]

Jim DeMint is now the GOP candidate in South Carolina.

Demint earned an 'A' from GOA as a Congressman.

 

[Liberty.45ACP]

>> WAGCEVP VOTE MAC COLLINS!

Ok, why? I'm curious as I was at a gun show back in March I think. Some of his people were there pitching him as Zell's replacement.

Any actual info would be appreciated - I was leaning his way, since I couldn't find a good reason for the others and at least he had someone there. Thanks!

 

[LAR-15]

Vote Richard Burr in NC.

Definitely not Blue or Bowles. Both are Dem gun grabbers.

I believe Blue even supported a state AWB once.

 

[twoblink]

California:
Barbara Boxer (D) - GOA F-, 0% pro gun in March - supported them all, even ammo ban

Might I add, supported and said that if she couldn't get a ban through, she also advocates the taxation of guns and ammo

Just in case you thought she was less scummy than she really is...

 

[Orthonym]

What IS it with that woman?

Yah, I know she was present when the twinkily-deranged cop shot Harvey Milk, but still...

Anyway, I live in Florida. I watched the Senate-candidate debates last time, when Mr. Nelson got elected. I voted for Mr. McDonald (sp?) because McCollum was a stone JBT on everything but the 2nd, and he qualified that so much he might as well have been Dubya Bush. He did win an Orwell award! The other candidates in FL? The last time this subject came up here I looked at their Web sites, seems like no change from then to now.

Bob Smith does sound cool, but I'd hate to vote for a carpetbagger, not that that makes any difference to my DY-transplant neighbors.