AR-15 Auction Featuring McMorris Rodgers Canceled

SPOKANE, WA - U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Washington State Republican Party chair Caleb Heimlich are scheduled to appear at an event next month that featured the auction of an AR-15, the weapon used by a gunman to kill 17 last week at at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

After an article in Politico about the event, the Stevens County Republicans issued a statement saying that the AR-15 would not be auctioned at the March 28 event.

"After POLITICO contacted the committee on Tuesday, the Stevens County Republican Party removed from the event's website mentions of the AR-15 and a plan to offer a 10-22 Ruger rifle as a door prize from the event’s website. But the organization is still considering how to proceed with the auction, its chair said," Politico reported Tuesday.

In addition to the Parkland shooting, an AR-15 was used in McMorris Rodgers' district during a school shooting. Sophomore Caleb Sharpe allegedly walked into Freeman High School on Sept. 13 and pulled out an AR-15, but the gun jammed before he could use it. Sharpe still allegedly killed one student, Sam Strahan, and wounded three others with a handgun.

McMorris Rodgers, the third-ranking Republican in the House, is facing a challenge this year from Democrats. Former state Senator Lisa Brown will try to take McMorris Rodgers' 5th Congressional District seat.

Heimlich, meanwhile, has sought to appeal to millennials - because he is one.

"By electing a 'Millennial,'" outgoing GOP chair Susan Hutchinson wrote in a January email, "the State Party reflects the growing number of young men and women who are stepping up to leadership in the Republican Party. 2018 will be an exciting year for us as our next Chairman works with legislators, candidates and voters to win more elections."

Caption: U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017.

Photo by Susan Walsh/Associated Press