2026 NRA Board Candidates Point Toward Reformers: A Comprehensive Guide

The 2026 National Rifle Association Board of Directors election is rapidly approaching. Who has been nominated? Who are the petition candidates? While it’s still early, the likely outcome is a supermajority of reform-minded candidates.

During the past few years, there’s been a growing number of candidates working to reform the NRA. Reform efforts gained ground in 2024 with four designated candidates. Former Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre resigned from his post and the 2024 reform slate helped elect current EVP Doug Hamlin. Reformers took the majority of the seats that were up during the past election and current NRA President Bill Bachenberg unseated Bob Barr from his post.

The two factions that split off on the NRA Board of Directors consist of those reform-minded directors/candidates, sometimes called NRA 2.0 and what’s being called the “old guard,” who self-identify as Strong NRA. Members of NRA 2.0 allege that Strong NRA members are a cabal of reactionary LaPierre loyalists. 

It appears that in the 2026 election, reform candidates will handily take and hold control of the board. This election comes in the midst of a lawsuit in which the NRA is suing their 501(c)(3), the NRA Foundation which is run by a group of Strong NRA directors. The NRA Foundation is responsible for funding many of the NRA’s educational programs and raises funds through Friends of the NRA events. 

There are 25 directors whose terms end in 2026. The nominating committee released their findings in August, tapping 30 individuals to fill the vacancies. Of those directors whose terms are ending, 13 weren’t on the committee’s list. One of those directors replied to September correspondence seeking comment on the slate of candidates.

“So you want to know why I’m not on the ballot?” Director Clel Baudler asked during a telephone interview. “I’m 86 years old, and I asked not to be nominated.” Baudler said it was time for a younger person to take over as he’d been a director for 21 years.

John Richardson, a current director and reformer from the 2025 NRA 2.0 group, said during an October interview that there was at least one other director he heard who wished to retire from that list — Jay Printz. Richardson said wasn’t sure about Judi White, however he said that she was absent at September’s board meeting due to health reasons.

“I don’t know about John Sigler, because that surprised me a little bit,” Richardson said. “He was on the 2025 ballot by both nominating committee and by petition.”

“I’ll be very blunt,” Richardson continued. “There are some people on the ballot that got nominated by the nominating committee, I have no clue who they are.” It’s not known if those candidates align with NRA 2.0, Strong NRA, or are unaffiliated.

The final slate had 11 successful petition candidates. Of those, three were also selected by the committee: NRA 2.0 newcomer Robert Beckmann, incumbent Director Steven C. Schreiner, and incumbent NRA 2.0 Director Amanda Suffecool. There were two incumbent directors not selected by the nominating committee who successfully got on the ballot via petition: Amy Lovato and Eb Wilkinson — both identify as Strong NRA candidates.

A few incumbents not selected by the committee ran unsuccessful petition campaigns. Richardson said there might have been a petition circulating for Thomas Arvas. He wasn’t sure if J. William Carter or Patricia A. Clark drew up petitions. “I heard (Charles) Cotton was running,” Richardson noted. “I know (Curtis S.) Jenkins was running by petition. (Amy Heath) Lovato, Barbara Rumpel, Danny Stowers and Eb Wilkinson” all ran by petition.

From the middle 2025 to the end of the year, several directors announced their resignations from the board.

Jim Fotis resigned, Richardson said. He also wrote about the resignation in his No Lawyers – Only Guns and Money blog. Fotis had to “take care of an urgent family emergency” and it would require all of his time. Col. Gene T. “Tom” Roach of Shelbyville, Kentucky took the seat Fotis vacated.

David G. Coy, a director whose term was due to expire in 2027 also stepped down and is allegedly now the treasurer of the NRA Foundation. It’s also alleged that Coy is being paid $205,000.00 annually in the position. The Foundation has not returned a request to confirm that information. Regis Synan is filling that spot after Frank Tait — the next runner up — turned down filling the chair.

Longtime director and former NRA President Sandy Froman resigned at the end of October. She was a Strong NRA director reelected in 2025. Todd Vandermyde will be filling the vacant seat until the 2026 annual meeting. Former NRA President and Director Bob Barr has also resigned.

According to NRA Secretary John Frazer, since the 2025 members’ meeting, there have been the following resignations of directors: Bob, Barr, Ronnie Barrett, Dean Cain, Bill Carter, Charles Cotton, Dave Coy, Jeff Fleetham (was filling a previous vacancy), Jim Fotis, Carol Frampton, Joel Friedman, Sandy Froman, Curtis Jenkins, Gene Roach (was filling a previous vacancy), Barbara Rumpel, Blaine Wade, Judi White, and Eb Wilkinson.

Also according to Frazer, the following runners-up have filled those vacancies: Isaac Demarest, Steven Dulan, Todd Figard, Jeff Fleetham (later resigned), Lucretia Hughes Klucken, David Mitten, Gene T. Roach (later resigned), Charles Rowe, Mark Shuell, Regis Synan, Todd Vandermyde, and James Wallace.

By October of 2025, formerly rumors circulating about the NRA Foundation began to be amplified. Those rumors included claims that the trustees of the Foundation changed the organization’s bylaws. The alleged change would cut the NRA Board of Directors proper out of the selection and election process of Foundation trustees. In other words, NRA membership would no longer have a voice in the selection of Foundation trustees.

In November, while discussing the upcoming election, Director Jonathan Goldstein addressed some of the resignations as well as the Foundation rumors during an interview. Goldstein, like Richardson, was elected as part of the 2025 NRA 2.0 slate. He said it’s his feeling that the majority of NRA members are “clamoring for reform” after seeing how prior boards ran the Association.

“I think what you saw was members did two things in the last cycle. They voted for a handful of names that were familiar to them from their presence on the board at great length, and then they voted for a group of us to come in and begin reforming (the NRA),” Goldstein said. “In the time since then, I think you’ve seen a number of those more familiar names move off the board of their own volition. Those are some of the resignations you saw in the recent weeks.”

“Those folks who had what I’ll call a less reform-minded view, decided that it was time for them to move on and maybe focus their energies in other places,” Goldstein continued. “That’s how it occurs to me. I haven’t spoken to any of them about it, but if I were observing casually from afar, that’s how it appears to me.”

When discussing the Foundation bylaw change, Goldstein expressed some skepticism about motives.

“The first question is whether that sort of a change in and of itself serves the interests of the broader NRA community, right? Is that good for the broader NRA?” Goldstein mused. “And second, whether a move like that is even legitimate or lawful to the extent it was done without consultation with the NRA itself.”

Goldstein explained that the NRA was “divested of certain rights” by the Foundation’s bylaw change. If the NRA is supposed to be the prime beneficiary of the Foundation, they were divested of those voting rights without consultation. “So there are serious questions that need to be raised about whether that bylaw change is valid or even permissible,” Goldstein said.

“Who does it serve?” Goldstein asked about the bylaw change. “As we say in the law, ‘cui bono?’ Who benefits?”

The current makeup of the NRA Foundation isn’t listed on its webpage. The 2024 Annual Report has leadership information, but it’s not current. The NRA didn’t respond to a request seeking the names of the officers and trustees of the NRA Foundation. The NRA Foundation also ignored multiple requests for information about their board, transactions, officer positions, the alleged bylaw changes and more.

Per the NRA Foundation’s “Donor Bill of Rights,” supporters are promised certain rights. “To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities,” is item #2 on their list of what donors are entitled to.

Director Robert Mansell was contacted for comment about the 2026 election. Mansell was elected in 2023 and is now up for reelection as an NRA 2.0 candidate. “Thank you for the invitation,” Mansell wrote in an email replying to a request for an interview. “As chairman of the Ethics Committee I believe it would be improper to discuss issues that could come up before the committee.”

The rumors about troubles with the NRA Foundation weren’t without merit. Earlier this year — as previously mentioned — the NRA announced that they are suing the NRA Foundation over a multitude of things. The list of allegations include the withholding of funds from critical NRA educational programs and the alleged illegal bylaw change.

Goldstein wanted to make sure people know that the reform slate elected by members in the past two cycles have “worked very, very hard to stabilize the NRA” after the turmoil in recent years. It’s his hope that the members who are engaged in the happenings at the Association can appreciate the work they’re doing.

“I hope that members who have disengaged over the years because of the appalling treatment they received at the hands of less reform-minded boards prior to us — I hope that anybody who disengaged on that basis takes a fresh look and takes note of the fact that we believe we are now worthy of reengagement,” Goldstein added. “This is a new NRA being run in a new way.”

Goldstein said that they’ve since adopted responsible budgeting processes, “right-sized” the administrative costs, dramatically lowered legal spending, and are “very focused” on serving the membership and what they’ve prioritized. Goldstein highlighted that the priorities members indicated were important to them include training and education, and political advocacy.

“For folks that have taken a break from supporting us, now’s the time to come back and get a little closer to the campfire again and get really engaged with us, because we now are very worthy of the support of our members and of the public at large,” Goldstein concluded.

With the number of recent resignations and what appears to be the migration of former Strong NRA directors over to the NRA Foundation, what’s going to happen next is difficult to predict. The current NRA Board ran out of runner-up candidates to take over vacant seats and there are only 71 directors (of a total of 76) at this time.

Of the many former Strong NRA directors who have been contacted — including former NRA President Bob Barr, David Coy, and Charles Cotton — former NRA President Sandra Froman responded about her resignation and claimed NRA Foundation President Tom King said he had no comment when queried about the lawsuit.

The full slate of candidates on the ballot for the 2026 NRA Board election can be found here and below with notes. According to Richardson, there are 35 seats to fill this cycle and “effectively 37” candidates on the ballot. The future of the reform movement looks good. The reform candidates’ ElectANewNRA.com site is up and running. As for the old guard, their website StrongNRA.com remains unchanged since the 2025 election.

“With the combination of what the nominating committee put out, run by Buz Mills, and I’m just looking over the list of petition nominees, it’s going to cement a supermajority of reformers on the (NRA) board,” Richardson said about the slate during an interview.

NRA Board of Directors ballots should be hitting mailboxes in January. Those elected will assume their roles at the annual meeting in Houston, Texas, on April 18.

1. William Bailey from Milledgeville, Georgia — Committee recommended, NRA 2.0
2. Robert Beckmann from Cincinnati, Ohio —- Committee recommended and petition, NRA 2.0
3. Kenneth Bowra from Smithfield, Virginia — Committee recommended, NRA 2.0
4. Charles Brown from Dayton, Ohio — Committee recommended, NRA 2.0
5. Robert Brown from Denver, Colorado — Petition candidate
6. Alex Carroll from Connersville, Indiana — Committee recommended, NRA 2.0
7. Ted W. Carter from Jacksonville, Florida — Committee recommended incumbent director
8. James D’Cruz from Oakland, Florida — Committee recommended, NRA 2.0
9. Isaac Demarest from Holland, Ohio — Petition candidate
10. Richard Fairburn from Canton, Illinois — Committee recommended incumbent director, NRA 2.0
11. Richard Todd Figard from Wadsworth, Ohio — Committee recommended, NRA 2.0
12. Lynn Gipson from New Athens, Illinois — Petition candidate
13. Megan Hilbish from Emporia, Kansas — Committee recommended Strong, NRA
14. Charles T. Hiltunen, III from Indianapolis, Indiana — Committee recommended incumbent director, NRA 2.0
15. Kyle Hupfer from Pendleton, Indiana — Committee recommended, NRA 2.0
16. Jacqueline Janes from Mesa, Arizona — Committee recommended
17. Jerry Kraus from Craig, Colorado — Committee recommended, NRA 2.0
18. Huey Laugesen from Colorado Springs, Colorado — Petition candidate
19. Amy Lovato from Westfield, New Jersey — Petition incumbent not recommended by committee, Strong NRA
20. Randy Luth from Becker, Minnesota — Committee recommended, NRA 2.0
21. Deborah Lyman from Wallingford, Connecticut — Petition candidate, Strong NRA
22. Robert Mansell from Bullhead City, Arizona — Committee recommended incumbent director, NRA 2.0
23. Eric Metteauer from Beaumont, Texas — Committee recommended, NRA 2.0
24. Ernest Myers from Windermere, Florida — Committee recommended
25. James W. Porter II from Birmingham, Alabama — Committee recommended incumbent director, NRA 2.0
26. David Raney from Hillsdale, Michigan — Committee recommended incumbent director
27. Mark Robinson from Colfax, North Carolina — Committee recommended incumbent director
28. Steven C. Schreiner from Englewood, Colorado — Committee recommended and petition incumbent director
29. Leroy Sisco from Boerne, Texas — Committee recommended incumbent director
30. Amanda Suffecool from Wayland, Ohio — Committee recommended and petition incumbent director, NRA 2.0
31. Regis Synan from Export, Pennsylvania — Committee recommended
32. Todd Vandermyde from Yorkville, Illinois — Petition candidate
33. Mark Vaughan from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — Committee recommended incumbent director
34. Linda Walker from Newark, Ohio — Committee recommended incumbent director, NRA 2.0
35. James Wallace from Newburyport, Massachusetts — Committee recommended
36. Jay Wallace from Smyrna, Georgia — Committee recommended, NRA 2.0 and Strong NRA
37. Bruce Widner from Anderson, South Carolina — Committee recommended incumbent director, NRA 2.0
38. Eb Wilkinson from Tucson, Arizona — Petition incumbent not recommended by committee, Strong NRA

A recent segment on Gun Owners Radio discussing the NRA v. NRAF lawsuit can be heard out here or in the embed below.