Mitch Perry
Republican candidate Lawrence McClure, running in the special election for House District 58, has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association to replace previous state Rep. Dan Raulerson.
McClure, a Hillsborough County Farm Board Bureau board member from Dover, is running against Plant City businesswoman Yvonne Fry in the GOP primary, which takes place Oct. 10.
“Lawrence McClure has an ‘A’ rating and is the only candidate in this race endorsed by the NRA and he is the only candidate who honestly supports Second Amendment rights,” said the statement from the NRA’s Political Victory Fund.
Fry has opposed open carry of weapons and carrying guns on state university campuses, citing the recommendations of law enforcement officials who opposed those proposed bills in Tallahassee.
“I am and have always been pro-gun,” said Fry when asked about the NRA’s backing of her opponent. “I will work everyday to preserve and protect the 2nd Amendment.”
McClure has raised a total of $107,205 since entering the contest. Fry has raised $68,765 for her own campaign, and an additional $35,000 in her political committee, Florida Leadership Fund. Plant City Mayor Rick Lott contributed $25,000 to that committee.
The winner of the GOP primary will be the favorite in the general election with takes place on Dec. 19. Democrat Jose Vasquez, Libertarian Bryan Zemina and non-party-affiliated Ahmad Saadaldin are also on the ballot.
Raulerson, a Republican, stepped down last month with a full year left in his term, citing health reasons.
One comment
Charles Nichols
September 15, 2017 at 4:27 am
Another RINO endorsed by the NRA is hardly news. And it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the NRA would endorse someone who opposes Open Carry. After all, the NRA has been in Federal Court in California since April of 2010 arguing to uphold California’s Open Carry bans including the one it helped write back in 1967. By the way, in its Peruta v. San Diego lawsuit the NRA also argued in support of the California Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1995.
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