Candidates court sportsmen

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The two major-party gubernatorial candidates in Virginia are targeting gun-rights advocates, including sportsmen -- a crucial voting bloc that previously endorsed candidates, most of whom ended up winning the election.

Both Republican Jerry W. Kilgore and Democrat Timothy M. Kaine have formed sportsmen groups -- "Sportsmen for Kilgore" and "Sportsmen for Kaine," respectively -- and promised that if elected, each will uphold gun rights more than his opponent.

Sportsmen and gun-rights advocates have always been crucial voters in Virginia, and this year is no exception, particularly since the National Rifle Association (NRA) declined to endorse a candidate in the 2001 race. The gubernatorial candidates who won NRA endorsements in 1993 and 1997 won their races.

This year, the NRA has endorsed Mr. Kilgore, a former state attorney general who received an "A" rating. The NRA gave Mr. Kaine, the lieutenant governor, an "F."

Despite his rating, Mr. Kaine says he is an avid outdoorsman who will protect gun rights. Before announcing the formation of his sportsmen group last month, Mr. Kaine went skeet shooting, hitting 14 of 24 clay targets with a shotgun.

"I want the sportsman of Virginia to know that I am a friend," Mr. Kaine said, announcing the group's formation. He has said that if elected he would not propose any new anti-gun laws.

Mr. Kilgore, who announced his sportsmen group days later, dismissed Mr. Kaine's group.

"Protecting the Second Amendment is not just some issue I stumbled upon in an election year," Mr. Kilgore said. "If you have an 'F,' you can't be trusted on the Second Amendment."

Independent candidate H. Russell Potts Jr., a Republican state senator from Winchester, is not campaigning for or against gun rights.

The Virginia Citizens Defense League, the state's gun-rights lobby group, has criticized Mr. Kilgore for not participating in the group's candidate questionnaire for the upcoming election or the June primary.