Today is GOP Primary Day

Several Congressional Districts are holding a primary today to determine the GOP Nominee for this November's election.

In the 1st District, incumbent Rob Wittman is being challenged by Catherine Crabill. Wittman is endorsed by the NRA-PVF. Congressman Wittman is a friend to gun owners and has been since his days in the General Assembly. Gun owners and sportsmen in the 1st Congressional District are urged to go to the polls today and support Rob Wittman.

In the 2nd District, six candidates are vying for the opportunity to challenge one term incumbent Congressman Glen Nye. Nye outperformed Barack Obama by 2% in 2008, winning 52.4 - 47.46. Obama won this heavily military district 50-48. The 2nd District is considered a swing district and rated as a toss-up my most pundits.

Ben Loyola
Ed Maulbeck
Bert Mizusawa
E. Scott Rigell
Jessica Sandlin
Scott Taylor

Governor Bob McDonnell has endorsed his longtime friend and supporter Scott Rigell. Rigell is considered the favorite in this race if for no other reason, because he has put a lot of his own money into the race. Rigell has been dogged in the primary by opponents who have pointed to his $10,000 political contribution in 2002 to an effort to finance local road and transit projects through an increase in the state sales tax but that does not seem to have dampened pundits' predictions that he is likely to have a double digit win in the primary. The NRA has not endorsed in this primary.

The 5th Congressional District is the most watched race. No less than seven candidates are running to challenge incumbent Tom Perriello. Perriello has acquired the name "One Term Tom" from those working many who dislike him. One the couple of votes related to gun rights, he has supported the interests of gun owners. He has also signed on to a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder telling the AG not push a renewal of the Clinton Gun Ban. But for those looking to unseat Perriello, they point to his unblemished record of supporting President Obama's agenda. Like Nye in the 2nd, Perriello outperformed Obama in 2008. Obama actually lost the district 51-48 while Perriello eked out a win over Congressman Virgil Goode 50.09-49.86. The 5th Congressional District is another toss-up rated District. The candidates running to take on Perriello are:

Kenneth Boyd
Ron Ferrin
Senator Robert Hurt
Mike McPadden
James McKelvey
Feda Kidd Morton
Laurence Verga

Boyd is a member of the Albermarle County Board of Supervisors. Feda Morton is a teacher and longtime Republican activist. Senator Hurt is a long time friend to gun owners as both a member of the House of Delegates and the State Senate. He has supported repeal of the ban on carrying concealed in restaurants like Appleebees and Olive Garden, that serve alcohol as well as food. Hurt has supported countless other bills restoring and expanding the rights of gun owners. He received "A" ratings from the NRA in his state legislative races.

Hurt has taken some heat for supporting then Governor Mark Warner's tax increase in 2004. Backers of Perriello hope that some conservative anti-tax voters will shun Hurt and vote instead for a right-leaning independent in the fall.

NRA has not endorsed a candidate in this primary. The "incumbent rule" may come into play in the general election in November. If Hurt wins today, gun owners will have two candidates from which to chose who have voting records on our issue.

The 8th District is a contest to take on longtime anti-gun incumbent Jim Moran. The candidates are:

Matthew Berry
Patrick Murray

Finally, in the 11th District, there is a very competitive race to take on anti-gun incumbent Gerry Connelly. The candidates are:

Keith Fimian
Patrick Herrity

Fimian is looking for a rematch from the 2008 race. He was endorsed by the NRA-PVF in 2008. Gun owners looking for a difference between the two may want to consider, Fimian opposes an unconstitutional full congressional representation for the District of Columbia. Herrity supports a representative in Congress for D.C. This representative would most certainly be anti-gun. The NRA has not endorsed in this primary.

Gun owners in each of these districts are encouraged to vote in today's primary, which is open to all voters. If you are not familiar with the candidates, click the links for each candidate in your district, read where they stand, then get out and vote.