At the NRA Annual Meetings last weekend I interviewed then-First Vice President Bill Bachenberg for the Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co podcast. During our conversation Bachenberg talked extensively about the reforms he’d like to see implemented within the group, starting with a president who knows a thing or two about running a business. The NRA, for all its work as an advocacy, litigation, legislative, educational, and training organization, is a non-profit corporation, and Bachenberg believes someone with business acumen and a background in running successful companies is critical in restoring both faith and financial soundness to the organization.
Bachenberg spoke openly about his plan to challenge incumbent president Bob Barr for election, along with a reform-minded slate of additional officers: then-2nd Vice President Mark Vaughn, and Rocky Marshall, who’s been a longtime advocate for increased accountability and transparency. Though officers are elected annually, traditionally they serve two-year terms, so this was a challenge to a sitting president, and was widely seen as a contest between those who are willing to acknowledge past failings within NRA leadership and those who still want to defend Wayne LaPierre and the misspending from other top executives, or at least refuse to truly acknowledge them.
Well, the 76 board members voted for new officers today, and it was a clean sweep for the reformers. From the NRA Public Affairs office:
Today, the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), elected Bill Bachenberg of Pennsylvania as President of the NRA and Doug Hamlin as NRA Executive Vice President & CEO. The meeting of the Board of Directors followed the 154th NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits where over 70,000 NRA members, their families, and supporters of the Second Amendment gathered at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia to check out the latest guns, gear, and accessories from over 600 exhibitors.
“I am deeply honored to be entrusted by my colleagues on the Board to serve as President of the NRA,” said Bill Bachenberg, NRA President. “We are at a pivotal point in our Association’s history as we work to reach out to new members, build upon the trust of existing members, and provide the gold-standard programs that American gun owners expect. As the Nation’s oldest civil rights organization, the NRA plays a critical role in protecting and advancing freedom in America.”
The NRA Board of Directors also elected Mark Vaughan of Oklahoma as NRA First Vice President and Rocky Marshall of Texas as NRA Second Vice President.
“As we conclude a very successful NRA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, I know one thing for sure: NRA’s best days are ahead of us,” said Doug Hamlin, NRA Executive Vice President & CEO. “This Association is moving forward, full speed ahead, to support the shooting sports, train new gun owners, and defend the sacred right to self-defense. I thank the dedicated staff of the NRA who work day and night on behalf of NRA’s millions of members and America’s more than 100 million firearms owners.”
Following Mr. Hamlin’s reelection, he reappointed John Commerford as the Executive Director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) and Josh Savani as the Executive Director of NRA General Operations.
The Board of Directors also reelected Sonya B. Rowling as NRA Treasurer, Robert Mensinger as NRA Chief Compliance Officer, and John C. Frazer as NRA Secretary.
The 2026 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits will take place in Houston, Texas, from April 17-19, 2026.
Frazer’s retention as NRA Secretary is a bit of a surprise, not only because he was part of the old regime but because he was implicated in Letitia James’ lawsuit agains the NRA (a jury held that he made false statements but did not cause financial harm to the organization and should not be held liable for damages). Whatever their reasons, enough reformers felt comfortable with Frazer in his current role that he was re-elected.
Today’s election results are a clear sign that the Wayne LaPierre days of the NRA are, for better or worse, over. The fact that former NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox, who resigned after being placed on administrative leave by LaPierre during the NRA’s meltdown in 2019, was warmly welcomed at an event celebrating the Institute for Legislative Action’s 50th anniversary was another telling indication that Wayne LaPierre’s influence over the NRA and its leadership is on the wane, if not wiped out completely.
For several years a growing number of NRA members and board members have been advocating for making some big changes to the organization; not in terms of its mission, but its ability to succeed in that mission. There is a recognition that trust needs to be rebuilt, that the institutional arrogance of the past should no longer exist, if it was ever justified to begin with. The NRA’s been knocked down a peg, and it wasn’t only because of Letitia James’ attempt to dissolve the organization and rob millions of members of their community. To pretend that isn’t the case only hurts the organization. Denial isn’t an option, and it wasn’t just the reformers who won today. I’d say the realists won too.
I’ve said along along that the Second Amendment community needs a strong NRA, and (casting all journalistic neutrality aside and speaking as a Benefactor Life Member) I’m thrilled that the reform slate swept the elections. I believe this is the moment that many disgruntled and reform-minded NRA members have been working (or at least waiting) for, and after speaking with multiple board members and NRA leadership Doug Hamlin, John Commerford, and Josh Savani, I can honestly say in my more than 20 years of connections with the organization I’ve never seen the sense of energy and purpose that I witnessed in Atlanta. I’m not saying the NRA is all the way back, but I’m optimistic that the efforts to rebuild and reform that led to today’s election results will now be able to kick into overdrive, and I’m excited to see what comes next.
Read the full article here
