The National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund endorsed a candidate in Wisconsin’s competitive Republican Senate primary election on Tuesday, boosting Leah Vukmir’s bid to take on incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin this November.
Vukmir, who’s secured endorsements from an array of Wisconsin’s Republican power brokers, is facing off against Kevin Nicholson, a Marine veteran and business consultant with influential endorsements of his own. Vukmir was endorsed, most notably, by the state GOP back in May, and has since won House Speaker Paul Ryan’s valuable endorsement.
In a letter delivering news of the endorsement dated July 12, NRA Political Victory Fund Chairman Chris Cox cited Vukmir’s “consistent and proven voting record on Second Amendment issues in the Wisconsin Legislature,” pointing to several specific positions she’s taken, including her co-authorship of “constitutional carry” legislation. Echoing Cox’s letter, a source familiar with the campaign said the NRA’s stamp of approval stemmed from Vukmir’s work in the state house. And in a state where hunting culture is strong, the group’s endorsement will likely carry some weight with Republican voters.
Phrases like “consistent and proven voting record” are music to Vukmir’s ears — her campaign strategy has relied heavily on emphasizing the longtime state lawmaker’s track record, seeking to cast her as the more reliable, battle-tested option for conservative voters. Nicholson once served as the head of the national College Democrats organization and has never held elected office, but his campaign owns both criticisms as selling points (a strategy worth paying attention to in the Trump era). Nicholson also has endorsements from such national Republicans as Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and conservative groups Club for Growth and Tea Party Patriots.
The NRA’s intervention on her behalf could help Vukmir shore up some support from undecided voters. The latest Marquette Law School poll taken in mid-June found her trailing Nicholson 32 to 37 percent with likely GOP primary voters, a spread that fell within the sample’s ± 6.9 percentage point margin of error. A full 30 percent of respondents were undecided, leaving the candidates with a big piece of the electoral pie to fight over until their Aug. 14 primary.
Vukmir framed the endorsement as more evidence voters can literally trust her to stick to her guns in office. “We must send a senator to Washington who we know will fight for our constitutional rights — our right to bear arms is at the top of the list,” she said in a Tuesday statement. “I am thankful for the trust that the NRA is putting with me in this race. Now more than ever, the reactionary Left is ready to restrict our gun rights. Wisconsinites need another senator we can be 100 percent sure will stand her ground for lawful gun owners, and they can count on me.”
