Otter gets 'A' rating from the NRA in endorsement

The National Rifle Association has endorsed Idaho Gov. Butch Otter for re-election to a third term.

“On behalf of our five million members across the country, the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund is proud to endorse Butch Otter for reelection as Governor of Idaho,” the gun rights group said in a press release.

The endorsement comes as no surprise. Otter signed a controversial bill that allows people with an enhanced concealed weapon permit on Idaho’s college campuses this year and has long attracted NRA’s endorsement.

The group gave him its “A” rating, reserved for a pro-gun elected official who has consistently supported the NRA’s position on votes of importance to gun owners and sportsmen.

“In the past four years, Butch Otter has done more than almost any other governor in the country to expand Second Amendment freedoms,” said Chris W. Cox, chairman of the NRA-PVF. “He is a champion of our Second Amendment rights.”

Otter’s main opponent, Boise businessman A.J. Balukoff, spurned the group's endorsement in part because of is efforts to push the guns on campus bill.

“Special interests gave us Idaho's guns on campus law," Balukoff said. "We don't need a governor and Legislature who are beholden to special interests. We need independent thinkers in government who answer to voters.”

This story was originally published September 19, 2014 at 8:52 AM with the headline "Otter gets 'A' rating from the NRA in endorsement."