MICHAEL GRAHAM ON NH ELECTIONS: Craig, Warmington Earn ‘F’ on Gun Rights From NRA

Both Cinde Warmington and Joyce Craig have failed the test on protecting the rights of New Hampshire gun owners.

That’s the finding of the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF), which issued its report cards on Granite State candidates Tuesday.

Both Republicans in the race for governor — former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte and former state Senate president Chuck Morse — earned an A, while the two Democrats received failing marks.

“Despite New Hampshire being one of the safest states in the country, radical progressives are continuing to push a national anti-gun agenda here in the Granite State,” Randy Kozuch, Chairman of NRA-PVF said in a statement to NHJournal.

“While these Bloomberg-backed gun-grabbers attempt to disarm law-abiding citizens and pass sweeping gun bans, our NRA-PVF endorsed candidates will fight to ensure that your Second Amendment rights will never be infringed.”

The NRA-PVF is the political arm of the National Rifle Association. It ranks political candidates – irrespective of party affiliation – based on voting records, public statements and their responses to an NRA-PVF questionnaire.

While Craig and Warmington may not be popular with Second Amendment supporters, the gun control group Moms Demand Gun Sense has given the two candidates its seal of approval.

Both Craig and Warmington are calling for a ban on the sale or purchase of assault weapons in New Hampshire, though neither candidate has released a definition of “assault weapon” — a term often used to describe semi-automatic weapons that “look scary” but which has no definition in the firearms industry.

The two Democrats would also overturn the state’s “constitutional carry” law that allows lawful gun owners to carry their guns, openly or concealed, without an additional permit.

Ayotte and Morse, on the other hand, have expressed their support for the rights of gun owners.

“As the only candidate in this race who has successfully protected your Second Amendment rights in New Hampshire, I have consistently fought to uphold our constitutional freedoms,” Morse said in a statement on his campaign website. “As Senate president, I drafted and passed the legislation for constitutional carry, ensuring that Granite Staters can exercise their right to bear arms without unnecessary government interference.”

And Ayotte has pledged that as governor, she will “defend our constitutional carry status and block the Biden administration’s efforts to infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Granite State gun owners.”

The NRA-PVF also ranked candidates in other races, including the hotly-contested state Senate District 23 GOP primary. While both incumbent Sen. Bill Gannon (R-Sandown) and Rep. Emily Phillips (R-Fremont) earned an A rating, the NRA endorsed Gannon in the contest.

In the Second Congressional District, the only major Republican candidate to receive any grade was Lily Tang Williams, who received an A based on her answers to the organization’s questionnaire.

The two Democrats, Maggie Goodlander and Colin Van Ostern, both received an F. They also support a ban on so-called assault weapons.

“NRA relies on a very simple premise: when provided with the facts, the nation’s elected officials will recognize that ‘gun control’ schemes are an infringement on the Second Amendment and a proven failure in fighting crime,” the organization said in a statement. “The importance of this premise lies in the knowledge that, as one U.S. Congressman put it: ‘The gun lobby is people.’”