One of the most difficult 2014 congressional races, from the NRA’s perspective, took place in Arizona, where former Rep.Gabrielle Gifford’s one-time chief of staff was running for re-election. Ron Barber had been elected in 2012 after Gifford was shot by a mentally unbalanced shooter in 2011. As she was recovering, Gifford emerged as a major public advocate for firearms restrictions.
The Republican candidate last fall, Martha McSally, a retired Air Force fighter pilot, had run against Barber in 2012 and took him on again last fall in what turned out to be the single closest congressional race in the country. The NRA got into the race after much internal debate, but did so cautiously because of the emotional impact of the Gifford shooting, the fact that Barber was so close to her and the sensitivities of voters to the firearms issue. Barber, however, was a gun control advocate, the district was seen by most as a swing district and NRA supporters in the district itself were lining up in favor of McSally who was, by all accounts, a formidable candidate.
Read the complete article: The Washington Times
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