Giving less bipartisan as parties shift on guns

The National Rifle Association has been a powerful force in Arkansas politics for decades; members of both parties have sought its support over the years.

And for years, it cultivated friendships and curried favor on both sides of the aisle -- not just in Arkansas, but nationwide.

"The NRA was much more decidedly bipartisan 30 years ago," said Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America.

In 1990, the NRA gave campaign contributions to 82 Democratic congressmen and 89 Republican congressmen, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in politics.

Back then, Democratic U.S. Reps. Bill Alexander of Osceola and Ray Thornton of Little Rock could count on NRA endorsements and campaign contributions.

Even after the turn of the century, Democratic U.S. Reps. Mike Ross of Prescott and Marion Berry of Gillett routinely received NRA kudos and cash.

In the Senate, the NRA has heavily favored Republican candidates for decades, but it had Democratic allies as well.

In 1990, it gave money to 16 Republican and seven Democratic members.

These days, however, the NRA has few non-Republican allies left.

In 2016 House contests, the NRA gave money to 214 Republican members and just four Democrats. In Senate races that year, no Democrat got money; 23 Republican members did.

The shift in donations reflects a larger political realignment, according to Winkler.

"There used to be a lot more Southern Democrats who were supportive of very vibrant gun rights and a lot of northern Republicans who were more than happy to restrict access to guns," Winkler said. "What we've seen is a real resorting of the political parties, where the strongest pro-gun voices are very concentrated in the Republican Party."

The pro-NRA Arkansas Democrats who once served on Capitol Hill have all retired or died; the state's two U.S. senators and four U.S. representatives are all Republicans now.

NRA officials did not respond to requests for comment.

It was easier to find pro-NRA Democratic politicians, Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin said, before the emergence of the modern Republican Party of Arkansas.

"When we were a one-party state and the Democrats held most positions, you had some really interesting mixes of people in that one party," the Little Rock Republican said in an interview. "In 2018, in Arkansas, if you're a conservative, you're going to be a Republican."

Nationwide, the NRA spends millions each election cycle to elect candidates who share its views.

But its membership rolls and its mailing lists may be more important than its money, Winkler said.

"There's a lot of single-issue, pro-gun voters out there, especially in a state like Arkansas, that really listen to the NRA's recommendations on who to vote for come election day," he added.

Hal Bass, a political science professor at Ouachita Baptist University, said alienating the NRA has always been risky in a rural state like Arkansas.

"Anti-NRA, pro-gun control policy stances haven't resonated very well with the Arkansas electorate," he said.

"Arkansas Republicans and Democrats have sought not to get on the bad side of the NRA in recent decades and have achieved some successes along the way," he said.

It's hard to tell whether the recent string of mass shootings elsewhere in the country has altered things in Arkansas, he said.

"Have we reached a tipping point and is the needle going to start moving the other way? I don't know," he said.

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