DILLON -The National Rifle Association has started a major get-out-the-vote campaign in Dillon. Now, you’d think the Labor Day rodeo here in Dillon is just preaching to the choir, but to the NRA, these midterms are not a sure shot.
WATCH: NRA targets Montana Senate race at Dillon Labor Day rodeo
“We always see some complacency. Some folks belong to that particular party say, ‘well, our guy’s in the White House, so we’re good.’ And, unfortunately, we can’t take that approach in this election,” NRA representative Lexy Higgins said.
The NRA kicked off their Gun Bus Battleground tour at the Dillon rodeo as part of a 13-state swing to encourage voters not to sit out the midterm election. The NRA mainly endorses Republican candidates, and the organization is focused on Montana’s Senate race.
“And this is the first time you had an open seat without an incumbent in decades, so this is an election that is very important,” Higgins said.
Most people I spoke with at the rodeo said they vote regularly and understand that all elections are important.
“It’s pretty sad when we have a primary election, and a few hundred people show up to vote out of a few thousand,” Dillon voter Rob McNee said.
Lack of voter enthusiasm is the biggest concern for the NRA.
“Montana is super important. If we don’t win here in Montana, that’s probably bad news for us on election night,” Higgins said.
For Rob McNee, people who don’t vote don’t have a right to complain – except he used a word that begins with a “B” that means the same as complaining.
“If you don’t
vote, you should not be able to bitch, and I like to bitch,” he said.
