The National Rifle Association made its long-awaited endorsement in the Missouri race for Governor on Tuesday, selecting Democrat Chris Koster over Republican Eric Greitens.
See also: Can Eric Greitens Become Missouri’s Next Governor?
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The endorsement came as a surprise to some—not only because the NRA tends to endorse Second Amendment-friendly conservatives over liberals but because Greitens, a former Navy SEAL, has released two separate campaign ads featuring him firing guns and blowing stuff up.
In his ad “Big Guns,” a voiceover calls Greitens a “conservative warrior” as the Republican candidate fires a Gatling-style military machine gun into a lake for more than 12 seconds of the 30-second ad.
“I’ll take dead aim at politics as usual,” Greitens says in another campaign spot, titled “Taking Aim,” where he laments the career politicians in Jefferson City before firing an assault rifle into a field, causing an explosion.
While you won’t find him firing automatic weapons in campaign ads, Koster, Greitens’ opponent, has a history of supporting gun rights. He earned an “A” rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund for his commitment to the Second Amendment as a senator and attorney general. Koster has earned the NRA’s endorsement before, in 2012 over Republican candidate Ed Martin. Koster has also said he would not have vetoed Senate Bill 656, which loosens state gun laws, as Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon did.
“I am pleased to receive the endorsement of the NRA,” Koster said in a statement. “As a rural prosecutor, State Senator, and now as Attorney General, I have long defended Missouri’s hunting heritage and Second Amendment rights. As Governor, I pledge to continue to protect the traditions and values of people across Missouri.”
Grietens received the NRA’s “Aq” rating, which means he gave strong answers on a survey about gun rights but does not have an established political record on the issue.
The Grietens campaign brushed off the NRA’s endorsement as further proof that the GOP nominee is a “political outsider.”
“We’re not gonna win the career politician insider endorsement contest,” Austin Chambers, Greitens campaign manager, said in a statement. “But no one is stronger than Eric on Second Amendment issues, and no one will fight harder to grow jobs and clean up the same old politics as usual holding Missouri back.”
Contact Lindsay Toler by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @StLouisLindsay. For more from St. Louis Magazine, subscribe or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
