Boy, things sure are getting bad for Republicans here in Wisconsin. After learning the National Rifle Association endorsed Congressman Steve Kagen, to whom Republican John Gard lost the 2006 race in Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District, Gard said he won’t be renewing his membership with the NRA. In an interview with Politico, Gard made it clear he felt he had been abandoned by the NRA:
“I have a 20-year history working with these folks and just because the NRA abandoned me doesn’t impact the race,” Gard said in an interview with Politico. “People know in this race they can trust me on those issues because I’m a hunter and a sportsman and a fisherman.”
Both Gard and Kagen received perfect ratings from the NRA, but the NRA has a policy of endorsing sitting members of Congress when they have the same ratings as a challenger. This is surely a blow to Gard’s candidacy, and given that the high price of gas was Gard’s main – if not only – campaign issue, his campaign has to be in some serious trouble. Coupled with the news that the RNC is pulling out of Wisconsin, look for Gard to lose to Rep. Kagen by a margin of 54% to 46%.
How can it be a blow to his candidacy if it is a known policy that the group endorses incumbents if they have equal ratings? It should have come as no surprise.