It seems that the White House wasn't the only one to back the wrong horse in the Republican primary. The NRA apparently screwed up as well--it was urging its members to vote for Bill Jones. Presumably, they didn't take Simon seriously enough, and thought that the race was between Jones and Riordan. Then, even after it became clear that Simon was the Second-Amendment candidate with the best chance, they didn't want to go back on their endorsement, but risked splitting the conservative vote.

They've gotten themselves a black eye with a lot of conservatives in California as a result. One expects that they'll now endorse Simon for the general election.