After rallying voters against House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) last week, on Monday, the Gun Owners of America (GOA) endorsed Joe Carr, a Tennessee state representative who is challenging Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in the August 7th GOP primary.
“It happened in Virginia to Eric Cantor. It’s about to happen in Mississippi, too.Washington establishment insiders – who care more about their reelections than your constitutional rights – are being defeated by an electorate fed up with the status quo,” wrote Tim Macy, the vice chairman of the group. “It’s time for the same kind of change in Tennessee, and that’s why Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is proud to support Joe Carr for U.S. Senate.”
The group noted that “time after time in the state legislature, Rep. Carr stood up for gun owners’ rights.”
“Joe voted to protect the privacy of concealed carry permit holders, and he voted to expand concealed carry to all restaurants so you are better able to protect yourself and your family,” they continued. “Joe voted to eliminate the unconstitutional requirement that gun buyers submit a thumbprint to Tennessee firearms dealers.”
Macy told GOA members that while Carr has “committed in writing to protect your gun rights 100% of the time,” Alexander, “who refuses even to answer the GOA candidate survey” has not, probably because he only has a “C” rating from GOA.
The National Rifle Association has given Alexander, who opposed last year’s bill on background checks, an “A” rating.
But GOA feels that Carr will be a better senator for the Second Amendment.
“Joe Carr is the real deal. He understands that government is supposed to protect liberty, not undermine it,” Macy wrote, before noting that Carr has said the Second Amendment is “the one constitutional right that safeguards all other rights.”
The group played a role in Cantor’s defeat, making calls against Cantor the night before the race for Dave Brat. The group emphasized that Carr can similarly upset the political establishment.
“On Tuesday morning, political commentators predicted a landslide win for Cantor, but voters rejected his support for bigger government and, in particular, his support of amnesty for illegal aliens,” the Gun Owners of America wrote last week after Cantor’s loss. “On Monday evening, Gun Owners of America blanketed the district with phone calls to registered voters, hitting Cantor for his recent vote to expand gun control and noting that Brat stands 100% for the right to keep and bear arms.”
Carr has said that Cantor’s loss has injected his campaign with momentum, and the same issues that toppled Cantor, especially his support for amnesty, can oust Alexander.