Well, this is a just a shame.
A new third-party audit of the National Rifle Association’s finances, obtained by OpenSecrets, found the group to be in the red for the second year in a row. The audit found that after a high-spending year during the 2016 elections, the NRA has seen a sharp decrease in income from dues-paying members for two years in a row.
The audit found that after spending at least $54.4 million supporting President Trump and other Republicans in 2016 races, the group had a deficit of nearly $14.8 million at the end of the year. By the end of the following year, 2017, the NRA had a total deficit of $31.8 million.
The group’s spending after the 2016 election dropped by $76 million, but it was not enough to offset the effects of declining revenue, according to OpenSecrets, which plummeted by $56 million. By comparison, the NRA saw $27.8 million in positive assets at the end of 2015.