U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “SATURDAYS ARE FOR THE DOORS!” the National Rifle Association exclaimed on X.com. “Throughout Virginia, NRA staff and volunteers are pounding the pavement to push pro-gun candidates to victory. Make your plan to vote here: http://triggerthevote.org.
The post is accompanied by a photo of two precinct-walking activists displaying political campaign door hangers, one urging votes for John Reid as Lt. Governor and Kim Taylor as District 82 Delegate, the other for Winsome Earle-Sears as Governor and Jason Miyares as Attorney General.
So, what to grouse about? This is what some of us have been pushing for, isn’t it?
Not exactly. Still unknown, because NRA management isn’t saying, is how the efforts they’re making compare with efforts that will be needed to keep gun prohibitionist Democrats from taking over state government and start piling on the infringements.
For instance, what is their plan to “educate and mobilize approximately 80,000 pro-gun voters identified as ‘may vote’ in 2025—those who participate in presidential elections (e.g., 2020, 2024) but skip off-year elections (e.g., 2021, 2023)”? What kind of money and manpower (including how many precinct walkers like this do they have, in all districts, and will they work continuously though to election day) are they committing to Virginia? What are the competitive districts, which ones are “Must Flip,” Must Win,” and “Must Defend,” and are they funded and staffed to “use direct mail, texting, live calls, and innovative re-engagement programs like ‘knock and drag’ to boost turnout”? Will they be bringing in salaried NRA reps from other states that are currently quiet, to act as organizers, coordinators, and volunteer team leaders?
That’s what it takes.
It’s tough to tell, because, aside from not responding to a detailed election victory plan submitted by Dennis Fusaro, the only NRA director among the “reform candidates” who has made his strategy public, very little else released by NRA indicates they’re doing anything extra or special to mobilize their members and reach out to low-propensity voting gun owners to stress how critical this election is.
They are, however, offering the same old boilerplate. From the door-hanger:
“The Second Amendment rights of Virginians have been under constant attack by radical progressives who seek to rubberstamp Michael Bloomberg’s extreme gun control agenda. By electing pro-gun candidates like Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, Attorney General Jason Miyares, and John Reid, Virginia gun owners can rest assured that they will be protected from the never-ending push to disarm law-abiding citizens. John Commerford, NRA-PVF Chairman”
Whenever anyone says “rest assured,” my first reaction is to look around nervously for what I missed, and maybe see if I still have my wallet. Isn’t resting assured, and counting on NRA to do all our heavy lifting for us, what got them—and us—into a mess that almost destroyed the Association? Who thinks that will inspire fence-sitters that they need to do anything but rest?
As an aside, endorsing Miyares ignores an earlier Virginia Citizens Defense League assessment that he “hasn’t seen any unconstitutional gun-control “laws in Virginia that he isn’t willing to defend!” While he’ll no doubt be “better” than Jay Jones, who wants to kill Republicans and their children (something the campaign literature fails to mention), when has giving gun owners over-inflated expectations—something NRA has been doing practically forever—not resulted in disappointment and erosion of trust when the inevitable betrayals kick in? Why not just be candid about it?
As another aside, directing members to Trigger the Vote hardly seems to be an effective game-changer, as its X.com account mentioned above, active since 2009, currently has less than 3.000 followers and hasn’t been updated in over five years. Is this a joke?
There’s one other “yuge” reality working against Earle-Sears, and that’s President Donald Trump, who has yet to endorse her and mobilize MAGA, and the slight looks personal:
“Earle-Sears and Trump’s relationship turned tepid in 2022 after the lieutenant governor suggested it was time for the Republican Party to “move on” past him and declined to support his third White House bid.”
That’s despite Earle-Sears doing everything she can to now support Trump and his agenda, leading to her being attacked by Democrats as “too MAGA.” Continuing to hold a grudge could be what condemns Virginia gun owners to an Abigail Spanberger administration. That makes no sense considering Trump has included JD Vance as a key player on his team, despite his saying a lot worse than Earle-Sears in the past, as I documented when Vance was running for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat:
“Senate hopeful J.D. Vance apologizes for criticizing Trump as ‘reprehensible’ in deleted tweets,” CNN reported. “Vance wrote in 2016 that he would not vote for Trump in the presidential election and instead] support Evan McMullin, a former CIA operations officer who ran as an independent.”
“Trump makes people I care about afraid,” he explained. “Immigrants, Muslims, etc. Because of this I find him reprehensible. God wants better of us.”
Deserving gun owners now want better of President Trump, and it’s not hyperbole to conclude that if he—and NRA—don’t do a lot more, and quickly, Virginia could be lost to the Democrats.
Pinning hopes that Democrat AG candidate Jay Jones wishing violent death on Republican rivals and their children (and by default, anyone voting for them) won’t cut it. Despite their (and the hypocritical gun prohibition groups’) refusal to admit such lethal sentiments against half the electorate disqualifies their party colleague from holding law enforcement power over his political opponents, Spanberger still leads Earle-Sears “by two and a half points among likely Virginia voters” and “Democrat Sen. Ghazala Hashmi leading Republican John Reid 46.8 to 45.9%.”
Note the poll says, “likely voters,” which shows the critical importance of the plan offered to NRA to go strong for the inconsistent, low-propensity ones.
Add to that a poll reported as “sanctioned by the John Reid for Lieutenant Governor campaign” that concluded:
When Democrats in Virginia were asked, did the text that Jay Jones sent to a colleague calling for — Republican Speaker Todd Gilbert, his wife, his kids hoping his kids would die in her arms so she could suffer, calling for police to die so he could get policy on qualified immunity… 7% of Virginia Democrats said yes. 93% said no.
NRA not even publicly addressing, let alone adopting the comprehensive plan offered by Fusaro to elect Winsome Earle-Sears, and Donald Trump not unequivocally endorsing and campaigning for her, will work against gun voter interests the longer it goes on. (Early voting is already underway, and the registration deadline is Oct. 24. There will still be same day registration, but those ballots will be provisional and need to be verified later.)
Unless Virginia gun owners see more from NRA and the president than they’ve shown so far, they could very well find themselves immersed in a very different climate than the one they’ve enjoyed under Gov. Glenn Youngkin, with a new battery of oppressive disarmament laws and no end to resultant expensive legal battles to combat them. If that happens, Republicans in all states will be facing a more radical, energized and confident Democrat party that’s approaching the midterms with an important bellwether victory under its belt.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
The silence of the NRA is deafening. But not surprising. The whole Trump/Earle-Sears feud is exhausting. But not surprising. As the author makes clear, the only way this will end well is if all gun owners in the Commonwealth of Virginia show up at ballot box.
UPDATE https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/10/19/trump-encourages-virginians-vote-winsome-earle-sears-excellent/ President Donald Trump encouraged people in Virginia to vote “Republican” in the upcoming gubernatorial election, noting that current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican candidate for governor in Virginia, is “excellent.” Not exactly a full-throated endorsment but it’s a start. What’s needed, of course, is his active campaigning. Saying “he has not ‘been too much involved’ in the gubernatorial election in Virginia” invites the questions “Why?” “Why did you have to be asked?” and “Will you now unequivocally campaign for her?” Because limiting this news to limited”tweets” and “conservative” media like Breitbart means many gun owners, particularly those… Read more »
Sergeant Sears blows up the Progressive New Left intersectional algebra matrix. Immigrant, African-American, Veteran, proud genetic (God made) woman. So the fact that she force feeds progressives their tripe on a regular basis makes her one of the most hated women in America. This is exactly why she should be the next governor of the Commonwealth. Loyalty to principles trumps loyalty to individuals and parties. Trump should know that. He was stabbed in the back by so many so-called republicans in his first term his back looks like Swiss cheese. Sears is predictable because she actually believes in something bigger… Read more »
Why does Polymarket say Sears has little chance of winning?
I’ve emailed and messaged NRA on X countless times about Fusaro’s plan. I’ve even emailed and messaged on X directly, Tom King, the chairman of the NRA Foundation, and not a peep. Same for NRA president Bachenberg, despite his claims of us being able to email him directly and that he’s personally replied to all the emails sent to, [email protected] is false. Other than this “Trigger The Vote” mentioned in the article, and one or two ham fisted “virtual” meetings for Virginia, I haven’t seen anything from NRA regarding Virginia elections, except from NRA director Jeff Knox, whom on his… Read more »