Former Republican Congressman and 2008 Libertarian Party presidential nominee Bob Barr has been elected as the new President of the National Rifle Association. He replaces Charles Cotton, who served several terms in the position.
According to an official statement released by the NRA on Monday, Bob Barr was elected during the organization’s 153rd Annual Meeting and Exhibits in Dallas, Texas. Members also chose Doug Hamlin to replace former CEO Wayne LaPierre, who stepped down earlier this year. Over 72,000 NRA members attended the event, with Republican former President Donald Trump delivering a keynote speech the preceding Saturday.
“I thank my colleagues for their support of my election as NRA President,” Barr said in the statement. “I have been a fighter my whole life and I commit to boldly fight for our Second Amendment rights on behalf of the millions of NRA members. We need to grow our ranks, especially in this election year, and I pledge to focus my attention on doing just that.”
Barr, who was first elected to Congress in 1994 as a Republican, served several terms in office before losing in the 2002 primary cycle after Georgia’s 7th congressional district was redistricted into the neighboring 11th. He publicly endorsed the 2004 Libertarian Party presidential nominee, Michael Badnarik, and gradually became more involved in the Libertarian Party. Two years later, Barr was appointed to the Libertarian National Committee, replacing Mark Bodenhausen as the Region 4 Representative.
Just over five months after his appointment, Barr stepped down from his position on the Libertarian National Committee to pursue the party’s presidential nomination. Barr eventually became the party’s 2008 nominee, winning on the sixth round of voting with 51.4% of the vote. Delegates would select Wayne Allen Root as his running mate, and the two appeared on 45 state ballots, earning just over 523,000 votes.
Several years later, Barr would return to the Republican Party and run an unsuccessful campaign for Georgia’s 11th congressional district, losing in the primary.
As the new President of the National Rifle Association, Barr replaces Charles Cotton, who was initially elected in 2021 and served several terms in the position.
Original unedited Image Credits: Bob Barr at Denver Convention: Photo by former IPR contributor William Saturn / Bob Barr Denver Convention 135 (cropped).jpg / CC BY 2.0
Editorial Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed Wayne LaPierre as the previous president. Wayne LaPierre was the former CEO and Executive Vice President. Charles Cotton was, in fact, the previous president. With thanks to reader Shane for the correction.
I was on the ballot as one of the Barr ‘electors’ in MA – and am incredibly glad he did NOT win, as I would not have been able to vote for him in good conscience… As was pointed out at the convention, Barr was one of the primary sponsors of the “Defense of Marriage Act”, he also was noted for his attacks on the Pagan religious community in the military, and other notable acts of bigotry and hatred. The Mass LP almost withdrew from National affiliation over this as Barr’s actions were repugnant to the sexual orientation and religious beliefs of a majority of both our convention delegation and board at the time.
I was unable to find an NRA rating on his 2A positions while in Congress, but was told by the GOA that they considered him a “B” at best…
I’m not going to tear up my NRA card over his election, but I’m certainly not going to be supporting them other than as a training organization.
Hi Shane, thank you for the correction. The article has been amended to reflect that the previous NRA President was Charles Cotton and that Hamlin replaced LaPierre. We’ll also note the change when we share this article next on our social media accounts.
The article is incorrect. Barr didn’t replace Wayne LaPierre. Wayne was the executive vice president — essentially like the executive director or CEO. Wayne controlled everything. The NRA president is basically their chairman for a term. Doug Hamlin replaced Wayne.
And George, I recall that day. I believe Bob was on the LNC at the time.
That’s probably a good role for him.
Thanks for the update of Bab Barr. Back in 2005 or 2996 I happened to be visiting the LP’s National Headquarters office when I was surprised to see him arrive there to meet with the National Executive Director. I later met him at the 2008 National Convention in Denver before his nomination when I was a delegate from Florida. I hope he will restore integrity to the National Rifle Association.