I think a good place to start is asking the question, “Where is here, and how did we get here?” The NRA has endorsed Jefferson Shreve (US Representative Indiana 6th District) for reelection in that US House District. You don’t need a very long memory to recall the same Jefferson Shreve had an “F” grade from the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) in 2024. To know how we got here, we’ll need to go back about 10 years.
In 2016, Jefferson Shreve ran in the State Senate Primary election, and lost to a strong 2nd Amendment (2A) supporter Jack Sandlin (who served in the Indiana Senate until he passed away in 2023.) Based on the questionnaire sent to new candidates, Jefferson Shreve received an “AQ” grade. This means the candidate supports the policies posed by the NRA in the questionnaire, but has never held office/does not have a voting record.
Fast-forward to 2023. Jefferson Shreve runs for Mayor of Indianapolis against Democrat incumbent Joe Hogsett. Candidate Shreve overwhelmed the Republican opponents in the primary with advertising. As the nominee, Jefferson Shreve introduced a “safety plan” that nearly mirrored Joe Hogsett’s (who is no friend to gun owners or the 2A) “safety plan.” An “assault weapons ban”, repeal of Constitutional Carry of handguns, prohibition of adults 18-20 from purchasing any firearm (including long guns) from a Federal Firearms Licensee. Needless to say, the voters of Marion County saw no difference in the candidates and Joe Hogsett was elected for a 3rd term.
A couple take-aways from the 2023 Indianapolis Mayoral election: you can spend an incredible amount of money on advertising and still only get 40% of the vote. Odd-year elections have historically low voter turnout. Giving 2A supporters a reason to show up at the polls could swing an election. Pro-2A voters stayed home because there was not much difference in the candidates. Additionally, the Hogsett campaign ran ads attacking Shreve because he had an “A” grade from NRA-PVF (it was an “AQ” from a questionnaire 7 years earlier, hadn’t changed since there was no activity to change the grade) even though Shreve’s “safety plan” was something that would’ve been embraced by Joe Hogsett. Politics is one ugly sport.
In 2024: US Representative Greg Pence from the 6th House District stepped down. The Republican Primary had not one but two NRA-PVF “A”-grade candidates/former State legislators… and Jefferson Shreve who by 2024 had gone from an “AQ” in 2016 to “F” based on his “safety plan” in the Indianapolis Mayoral race in 2023. (My opinion here: the two solid pro-2A candidates with voting records and NRA-PVF “A” grades split the vote. Combined with a 17% voter turnout, Jefferson Shreve became the nominee for the 6th District.) The pro-2A voices in Indiana were not silent in the lead up to the primary. Guy Relford (Founder of The 2A Project and host of The Gun Guy Show on WIBC) was quite vocal in opposition to Jefferson Shreve’s run for US Congress. As far as the ISRPA’s position, this is my March 2024 ISRPA Newsletter article: Indiana Primary Election Ratings & Endorsements Are Now Posted on NRAPVF.ORG.
Not long after the primary, Jefferson Shreve reached out to a number of individuals here in Indiana known for both being staunch 2A supporters associated with the NRA/ISRPA, and very involved with Indiana politics. (The number of individuals is three. I won’t use their names, but you would probably recognize all three and definitely recognize one.) The Republican nominee for the 6th District US House had (paraphrasing here) realized the importance of the 2A and that the policies he had put forth in 2023 do not work. He understood that trust must be earned, and his actions in the US House would be what earned the trust. Needless to say, the reactions to this change of position were wide-ranging and often quite loud.
The Indiana US 6th District is (roughly) south of Indianapolis, and east of Indianapolis going all the way to the Ohio border. Jefferson Shreve won the general election with 64% of the vote.
There is a quote about making our adversaries our allies. I think that is a softer version of President Lincoln’s “I will destroy my enemies by making them friends.” Having joined the US Air Force at the height of the Reagan-buildup one of my favorite quotes from President Reagan is, “Trust, but verify.” President Reagan was referring to a nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviets, however “trust, but verify” applies to many things… especially in politics.
Since being sworn-in to the 119th Congress in January 2025, Representative Shreve has been very active. His actions as the 6th District Representative have far exceeded what we would’ve expected following 2023. He is a co-sponsor of National (handgun) Carry Reciprocity. He voted for the 2026 Budget Act (The One Big Beautiful Bill) which eliminated the $200 tax on short-barreled rifles and shotguns as well as suppressors. He has also been quite active with legislation involving scammers and cyber-criminals.
Paraphrasing a well-placed source (who I won’t name) within the NRA organization who would be in a position to know these things: Representative Shreve has worked with the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) representatives very well. His work in his first term has Republican leadership considering him for leadership roles (committee chairs have significant power.) To the best of my source’s knowledge: he did not solicit the endorsement, nor did he make a donation to acquire it.
That fellow gun owners/2A supporters/ISRPA members is how we got to where we are now: Representative Jefferson Shreve has an endorsement from the NRA based on his work in the US House of Representatives.
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