Ohio Gun Owners downgraded State Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) from a C-minus to an F rating Thursday, citing what the organization says are campaign contributions from gun-control lobbyists that Click accepted and refused to return — a last-minute escalation in a feud that has defined the final weeks of the House District 88 Republican primary.

The downgrade was posted to Ohio Gun Owners’ 2026 voter guide five days before the May 5 primary. Click’s primary challenger, Eric Watson of Tiffin, maintained the organization’s “Aq” rating — its highest grade for non-incumbent candidates.

Ohio Gun Owners’ Facebook page announced the change Thursday morning, calling it “BREAKING” news.

“In the HD88 race (Sandusky and Seneca Counties), candidate Gary Click, who was already a shameful C-, has been downgraded to an F RATING for undisclosed, unreturned campaign contributions from gun-control lobbyists in his campaign reports,” the organization wrote. “TERRIBLE!”

Ohio Gun Owners Executive Director Chris Dorr added in a comment on the post: “Gary has received stacks of campaign cash DIRECTLY from a gun-control organization as well as from the lobbying firm employed by another gun-control organization. Terrible!”

Ohio Gun Owners did not name the specific contributors it was characterizing as gun-control lobbyists in its public posts Thursday.

TiffinOhio.net independently reviewed Click’s pre-primary campaign finance report filed with the Ohio Secretary of State. The report shows contributions from a range of PACs and organizations during the 2026 pre-primary filing period, including $3,000 from the Ohio Association for Justice PAC, $5,000 from ACT Ohio Foundation PEC, $1,500 from the Ohio Dental Association PAC, $1,500 from UA Local 50 Plumbers & Steamfitters, and $500 from the Ohio Trucking Association PAC, among other donors. Ohio Gun Owners had not publicly attributed the F downgrade to any specific contributors in that report as of Thursday afternoon.

Click’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A feud months in the making

The F downgrade is the latest chapter in an escalating conflict between Click and Ohio Gun Owners that has played out publicly since early April. Ohio Gun Owners first gave Click a C-minus rating for the 2026 primary cycle, citing his refusal to complete the organization’s candidate survey in both 2024 and 2026 and his vote in December 2024 against advancing the Second Amendment Preservation Act on the Ohio House floor.

Click responded by calling Dorr a “fraud” and a “stalker” on his official state representative Facebook page, alleging Dorr had altered his survey answers and harassed female legislators — allegations Dorr denied, calling Click “a damned liar.” Several of Click’s specific claims remain unverified; Dorr has denied each of them.

Click later changed his official Facebook profile photo to an image of himself in hunting gear, aiming a scoped shotgun — a move that coincided with Ohio Gun Owners posting a video contrasting his gun record with Watson’s 100% pro-gun survey score.

Despite the feud with Ohio Gun Owners, Click has maintained an A rating and endorsement from the Buckeye Firearms Association, which he has cited as proof of his pro-gun credentials. BFA and Ohio Gun Owners have been publicly at odds for nearly a decade; BFA has referred to Ohio Gun Owners as a “false flag group.” Dorr has argued that BFA’s endorsements are coordinated with House Republican leadership rather than based on legislators’ voting records — a claim BFA disputes.

Primary context

Click is seeking his fourth and final consecutive term in the Ohio House due to term limits. He faces Watson in the May 5 Republican primary. Democrat Aaron Jones of Tiffin, a U.S. Army veteran and Tiffin City Council member, is running in the general election regardless of the primary outcome.

TiffinOhio.net has previously reported that 65.6% of Click’s total fundraising since 2020 has come from corporate PACs and industry groups, while individual donors within the 88th District account for just 13.9% of his campaign war chest. In 2025 alone, Click transferred $39,000 to OHROC — the Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee, the House caucus PAC controlled by Speaker Matt Huffman.

Early voting is underway. The primary is May 5, 2026.