The number of congressional candidates receiving A ratings from the National Rifle Association, indicating unfettered support for gun rights, declined this year for the seventh consecutive election cycle, underscoring the continuing decline in political influence for the organization — even in an election year when the two candidates atop the Democratic ticket are playing up their credentials as gun owners.
Of the 920 candidates running for seats in the House or Senate, only 31.5 percent have “A” grades, down from 36 percent in the 2022 elections. About 44 percent have “F” grades, up from 40 percent in 2022. That means the N.R.A. has given more F’s than A’s in four straight election cycles.
The New York Times has analyzed changes in the organization’s candidate ratings in every general election since 2010. This year’s analysis began with data provided by the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety, which supports tighter restrictions on guns. The Times independently verified the data and ran its own calculations.
The decline in the number of top ratings happened entirely among Republican candidates, 63 percent of whom received A’s, compared with 71 percent in 2022. No Democrat received an A grade in 2022, though, in a twist, one did this year: Representative Mary Peltola of Alaska.
The share of Republicans who received question-mark ratings — indicating no clear public record on gun rights, and no response to the N.R.A.’s questionnaire — jumped to 31 percent from 24 percent in 2022.
Justin Wagner, Everytown’s senior director of investigations, who ran the group’s analysis, said the number of question-mark ratings suggested that fewer candidates viewed the N.R.A. as an interest group whose support was worth courting, even if their policy views might align.
Only about 2 percent of Republican candidates — nine people — received D’s or F’s, indicating that they actively supported major gun-control measures.
Among Democrats, about 87 percent — up from 81 percent in 2022 — received F ratings, meaning the N.R.A. considers them a “true enemy of gun owners’ rights.”
F-rated candidates support measures that the N.R.A. opposes — for example, a ban on assault weapons, or an expansion of red-flag laws or background checks — but the grade doesn’t mean they want to ban most guns. Indeed, Vice President Kamala Harris, who supports all three of those measures and whom the N.R.A. is campaigning against, has made a point of emphasizing that she owns a handgun for self-defense.
Just over 10 percent of Democrats received a question-mark rating, suggesting that Democrats have been more consistently vocal about supporting gun control than Republicans have been about opposing it.
Among Democrats, B’s and C’s accounted for less than 1 percent, and 2.4 percent of candidates had D’s. Among Republicans, 3.3 percent had B’s, while C’s and D’s each accounted for less than 1 percent.
As is the case every election cycle, the shifts were driven mainly by new candidates, while most incumbents received the same grade as they had the last time they ran. Only five incumbents — four Republicans and one Democrat — received higher grades this year than they previously had, while four — three Democrats and one independent, Senator Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats — received lower ones.
Randy Kozuch, the chairman of the N.R.A. Political Victory Fund — the group’s political action committee — said on Thursday: “We are proud to stand with candidates up and down the ballot who support the Second Amendment. This November, we are committed to electing Donald Trump as president and electing pro-gun majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.”
Mr. Kozuch did not respond to the specific findings of the ratings analysis.
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