On June 29, 2021, Matthew Lacombe, assistant professor of political science, published a new report through the nonprofit law and public policy institute the Brennan Center for Justice, titled “A Culmination and a Crossroads.” The report, which focuses on the shifting political role of the NRA in 2020, investigates the link between gun rights politics and a larger right-wing populist ideology.
Examining a variety of tumultuous political events that took place in 2020, Professor Lacombe interrogates the years-long political development of the NRA as a right-wing powerhouse, and what the end of the Trump administration could mean for the Republican-backed organization. Given how the tumultuous election cycle has left lasting challenges for the GOP, he predicts the NRA may, for the first time, face a struggle in recruiting new gun owners at all, leaving its membership — and future as an organization — uncertain.