Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (D) first ran for his Vermont Senate seat in the 1990 election, a race he won in part because he was backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA). Sanders' Republican opponent, Peter Smith, had recently changed his mind to back an assault weapons ban, which the NRA found unacceptable.
"Bernie Sanders is a more honorable choice for Vermont sportsmen than Peter Smith," said the NRA's Wayne LaPierre at the time. "It is about integrity in politics." Though the NRA's backing did not single-handedly put Sanders in office, one exit poll showed that more than a third of his 1990 voters were influenced by the gun issue.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Mennonites in the spotlight over Texas measles outbreakUnder the Radar Close-knit religious community claims it has been made a scapegoat for wider issue of anti-vax sentiment in rural West Texas
-
Xochitl Gonzalez’s 6 favorite books that shaped her storytellingFeature The best-selling author recommends works by Stephen King, Julian Barnes, and more
-
Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector’s Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a LegendFeature Rebecca Romney stumbles upon a 1778 novel by Jane Austen’s favorite author
-
Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine after public spatSpeed Read Trump and J.D. Vance berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy for what they saw as insufficient gratitude
-
Trump's Mexico and Canada tariffs begin, roiling marketsSpeed Read Stocks plunged after Trump affirmed that the tariffs would take effect, sparking a likely trade war
-
Judge tells White House to stop ordering mass firingsspeed read The ruling is a complication in the Trump administration's plans to slash the federal workforce
-
Trump vows 25% tariffs on EU at Cabinet meetingSpeed Read The tariff threats serve to enhance a growing suspicion that the president views Europe as an adversary, not an ally
-
Trump proposes 'gold card' visas for rich immigrantsspeed read The president claimed the US will begin selling $5 million visas offering permanent residency
-
House passes framework for big tax and spending cutsSpeed Read Democrats opposed the GOP's plan for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion in spending cuts, citing the impacts it will have on social programs
-
Trump sides with Russia on Ukraine war anniversarySpeed Read The president's embrace of the Kremlin is a reversal of American policy
-
Trump purges Pentagon, puts MAGA pundit at FBIspeed read The president fired top military leaders and appointed podcaster Dan Bongino as deputy director of the FBI
