The political wing of the NRA announced Friday that the organization will not endorse Democrat Sen. Harry Reid, who is largely viewed as a pro-gun Democrat, in his heated race to keep his Nevada U.S. Senate seat.
But in the statement released by the gun lobby, the group did not endorse Reid’s Republican challenger, Sharron Angle, with whom he is deadlocked in polls.
Reid, the Senate majority leader, had reportedly been under consideration for an endorsement, but the NRA, in a statement, suggested the Senate’s confirmations of Supreme Court justices Elena Kagan and Sotomayor factored into their decision not to endorse him.
The endorsement could have helped Reid win over moderate Republican votes.
His campaign downplayed the news to the Atlantic, pointing to public statements from the gun-lobby’s leaders that argue that “the NRA believes Sen. Reid to be a strong advocate for Nevadans’ Second Amendment rights in the U.S. Senate.”
“It comes as no surprise that the NRA would refuse to endorse Senator Harry Reid,” said Angle spokesman Jerry Stayc. “Senator Reid has a lengthy record of voting for measures that are anti-2nd Amendment, and his recent support for Elena Kagan was a constant reminder that the 2nd Amendment remains in serious jeopardy under Senator Reid’s leadership.”