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Outdoor Retailers Say 1st Foray Into Elections Was Success

DENVER (AP) — An outdoor industry retailers group says its first venture into electoral politics was a success.

The political director of the Outdoor Industry Association, Alex Boian, said Thursday the group endorsed 23 candidates for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House or governor in the mid-term elections, and 20 won.

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(credit: CBS)

The association also made campaign contributions through its political action committee but the amounts weren't immediately available.

Fifteen of the candidates the group endorsed were Democrats and eight were Republicans.

Bears Ears National Monument under review
MEXICAN HAT, UT - JUNE 11: The sun sets over Valley of the Gods in Bears Ears National Monument seen from the Moki Dugway June 11, 2017 north of Mexican Hat, UT. (Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Boian says President Donald Trump's decision to shrink the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah helped spur the association to jump into politics.

President Trump Delivers Remarks At Utah State Capitol In Salt Lake City
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - DECEMBER 4: With Utah officials surrounding him, U.S. President Donald Trump shows an executive order he signed reducing the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument at the Rotunda of the Utah State Capitol on December 4, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Trump announced the reduction in size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments which were created by Presidents Obama and Clinton. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

The association says its industry generates $887 billion a year and is responsible for 7.6 million jobs nationwide.

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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