Around election time, newspapers historically puff up their chests and strut around with delusions of grandeur, believing their endorsement of a candidate is something other than a means of stroking the egos of editorial board members.

Last year, RECOIL endorsed Adam Kraut for election to the NRA Board of Directors. He lost. While that may indeed mean our stamp of approval is nothing more than an electoral kiss of death, here in no particular order are our picks for this year's runoff.

Adam Kraut

Since running last year, Adam continues to demonstrate his credentials as a staunch Second Amendment advocate through word and deed. We encourage you to conduct your own research as to his positions (and, for that matter for all of the people on this list). We believe he'd be an excellent representative of the views of our readers on the Board of Directors, and bring a lawyerly perspective to the defense of our gun rights.

Julie Golob

Julie's a best-selling author, top level competitive shooter, mom, and media maven. We've personally known her for years and can vouch for both her 2A credentials and her ability to communicate effectively with people on the fringes of our community. If we're looking to bring the ‘firearm curious' into the fold, there's no one better to reach them.

Duane Liptak

Former F/A-18 pilot, MARSOC plank member and FAC, Duane got his hands dirty in Colorado's political fight for regular-capacity magazines. He's made a name for himself in the firearms community as the executive vice president of Magpul, after a stint as their director of training. He's a hard-charger and can be counted on to actually show up to board meetings.

Steve Reichert

Steve's an original badass, a decorated U.S. Marine and unapologetically in-your-face about promoting the kind of raw meat, all-American values sadly lacking in some of our coastal cities. Since parting from the USMC after surviving injuries suffered in an IED attack, he founded and grew one of the most respected training organizations in the country.

Update on February 2, 2018: Reichert is not on this year's ballot, but can still be voted for as a write-in candidate. Yesterday, Reichert sent us this statement, “Thank you Recoil for your vote of confidence! I fell short this year (NRA almost tripled the #’s to get on the BOD). I’ll be running again next year www.SRnra.com Semper Fi and thanks again.” While he won't be on this year's ballot, I look forward to supporting Reichert in his 2019 election effort.

This article was updated on February 2, 2018, to reflect current information.