Gun-grabber (presumably) defeated in Ohio's 12th Congressional District special election

Any gun owner who excuses his or her absence from the ballot box on the claim that their vote doesn't matter need look no further than Ohio's 12th Congressional District to recognize their folly.

On August 7, a special election was held in central Ohio to fulfill the remainder of Rep. Pat Tiberi's (R) term. Tiberi resigned to take a job in the private sector. BFA- and NRA-endorsed Troy Balderson came away from election night with a 1,754 vote (0.9%) lead over NRA "F"-rated, Gabrielle Giffords-endorsed Danny O'Conner (D) , with 3,435 provisonal ballots and 5,048 outstanding absentee ballots still to be counted. When the final vote is counted, Ohio law calls for an automatic recount if the two candidates are separated by less than half a percentage point.

The 12th District has traditionally been a solid conservative district, leaving many (including President Trump, who held a rally for Balderson days before the election), to recognize that, come November, NO district is safe and NOTHING can be taken for granted when it comes to protecting our Second Amendment rights.

From Cincinnati.com:

NEWARK - President Donald Trump's endorsed candidate appeared to eke out a win in an extremely tight central Ohio race in Ohio Tuesday – but it should have never been this close.

Trump's name wasn't on the ballot in the reliably Republican district, but his brand was. Trump repeatedly endorsed Republican state Sen. Troy Balderson over Democrat Danny O'Connor, a county elected official, to fill the remaining months of former U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi's term.

Trump flew to Ohio Saturday to campaign for Balderson in a crowded, overheated high school gymnasium. "(Balderson)'s really tough. He's really smart. He never stops working," Trump said of Balderson, a former Ironman race competitor. "It's Ohio's 12th district, and he's going to hopefully be here a long time."

...

Trump immediately took credit for the victory, tweeting "after my speech on Saturday night, there was a big turn for the better."

Balderson thanked the president during his brief victory speech. “America is on the right path, and we’re going to keep it going that way,” he said.

While it is presumed Balderson will take office next month, both he and O'Connor will be back on the campaign trail almost immediately. They will face off again in November for the next full two-year term.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is co-founder of BFA-PAC, and served as its Vice Chairman for 15 years. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.