See this list of members of Congress who have ‘F’ ratings from the National Rifle Association (NRA), so you can re-elect them in November 2018.
At long last, the NRA came under fierce and sustained scrutiny following the February 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. All credit goes to the group of student survivors of the attack who spoke up immediately and righteously, and have continued to do so, and those who have amplified their message.
Previously, we at OTYCD augmented a list tweeted by Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) of sitting members of the House of Representatives who held ‘A’ ratings from the NRA. (Scroll down for a link to that post.) We noted which ones were retiring, how many Democrats were running for each seat, and how the Cook Political Report rated each district.
This post is about members of Congress who are up for re-election in November 2018 and have ‘F’ ratings from the NRA, so you can defend them with your money, time, and by spreading the word. After the Parkland shooting, you might have read about sitting politicians touting their Fs. Some of the embracers-of-the-F are not due to run this year. If you feel that someone is missing from this post, that’s probably the reason.
So you’re aware–the NRA does not issue its grades directly. Instead, it gives them through its Political Action Committee (PAC), the NRA-PVF. The last three letters stand for Political Victory Fund.
This list is neither comprehensive nor complete. The freshest grades for sitting politicians aren’t easy to access and confirm if you’re not an active NRA member.
We expect to update this list, and we invite you to email us with information about others who should appear. In sending your suggestions, please also include citations that support your claim. Acceptable sources include social media posts by the MoC. (See the About & Subscribe page to find our email address.)
It’s also fair to conclude that if your members of Congress are Republican, they’re more likely to have a higher grade from the NRA. But you can’t assume the precise grade that any individual politician might have earned without seeing the actual list.
Also worth knowing: In our research we found a piece in the York Daily Record, a Pennsylvania paper, which specified what each letter grade means to the NRA-PVF. We are reproducing the key and linking the story below. While we are focusing strictly on F-rated politicians who are up for re-election, the key reveals nuances that might not be evident otherwise.
If no additional information is included beyond their names and districts or states, you can assume the Congressperson is running for re-election in 2018. You can also assume we do not have NRA ratings for Democratic challengers yet.
Democrat Donald Payne, Jr., representing New Jersey’s 10th District.
Democrat Luis Gutierrez, representing Illinois’s 4th District. In November 2017, he announced that he would not run again. Democrat Jesus Garcia will face Republican Mark Wayne Lorch in the general. The Cook Political Report rates the seat as Solid Democratic.
Democrat John Yarmuth, representing Kentucky’s 3rd District.
Democrat John Lewis, representing Georgia’s 5th District.
Democrat Mike Quigley, representing Illinois’s 5th District.
Democrat Nydia Velazquez, representing New York’s 7th District.
Democrat Gregory Meeks, representing New York’s 5th District.
Democrat Judy Chu, representing California’s 27th District.
Democrat Adam Schiff, representing California’s 28th District.
Democrat Bob Brady, representing Pennsylvania’s 1st District. On January 31, 2018, he announced that he would not run for an eleventh term. Three Democrats and two Republicans are running in the May 15 primary. The Cook Political Report rates the district as a Toss-Up.
Democrat Dwight Evans, representing Pennsylvania’s 2nd District.
Democrat Brendan Boyle, representing Pennsylvania’s 13th District.
Democrat Mike Doyle, representing Pennsylvania’s 14th District.
Democrat Matt Cartwright, representing Pennsylvania’s 17th District.
Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, whose campaign website touts his F rating from the NRA.
See OTYCD‘s post on sitting members of the House of Representatives who have A ratings from the NRA:
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See the February 2018 York Daily Record piece on Pennsylvania legislators’ ratings from the NRA, which includes the grade key reproduced above as well as grades for all sitting members of Congress from Pennsylvania, as well as the state legislature:
See a February 2018 piece in which New Jersey Congressman Donald Payne, Jr. celebrates his F grade:
https://patch.com/new-jersey/montclair/new-jersey-congressman-proud-his-f-grade-nra
See a March 2018 piece from The Hill on Georgia Congressman John Lewis embracing his “bad” grade at the Washington, D.C. March for Our Lives event:
See a March 2018 piece that collects tweets from sitting House Reps who are donning F pins to tout their NRA grades:
See Congressman Mike Quigley’s Facebook post about his F from the NRA:
See a link to the February 27, 2018 tweet in which Congressman Adam Schiff references his NRA grade:
See the page on Democratic Senator Tim Kaine’s website that cites his F from the NRA:
https://timkaine.com/issue/tackling-gun-violence/
Also see How to Get an F from the NRA, a 2013 piece written by Patrick J. Murphy, a two-term Congressman from Pennsylvania:
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/how-get-f-the-nra
A note: We at OTYCD intend to nurture and encourage the movement sparked by the Margory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting by devoting one post at least every other week to gun safety-related issues. (It’s ended up being more than that so far, fwiw.)
The reason that the NRA has a death grip on Congress, and in particular, GOP Congressfolk, is that NRA members get off their asses and call if there’s a whisper of a muttering of a hint that a law might pass that could impose even the slightest imposition on ownership of guns in America.
That’s what the politicians are afraid of. It’s not just that some of them get metric buttloads of money for their campaigns from the NRA. Those who embrace the NRA’s outlook pounce on their phones and berate their representatives the instant they think their beloved guns are under threat.
So, yes, it’s on us to shout back.
We have to adopt the tactics of those who support the NRA.
We have to call our representatives often to make it damn clear that the status quo is unacceptable, and we want common-sense gun safety laws.
OTYCD will start out with one weekday post every two weeks, at minimum, that has to do with improving gun safety and pushing back against the NRA.
We do this in honor of the Parkland victims, and all victims of mass shootings in America, and everyone who has been fighting to change our laws on firearms all along.
If Trump finally bows to the will of Congress and imposes the sanctions against Russia for messing with the 2016 election, we will switch to devoting one post per week to these issues.
Honor the victims of the Parkland shooting, and all other shootings, by stepping up and calling your reps about common-sense gun safety laws, and by supporting politicians who have low grades from the NRA, and voting out those who do the NRA’s bidding.
#NeverAgain. For the love of all that is right and good, Never Again.
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