Summers receives endorsement from NRA

    HOLDEN, Maine — U.S. Senate candidate Republican Charles Summers hopes receiving the National Rifle Association’s endorsement can boost his candidacy among voters in a state that has a long tradition of hunting and gun ownership. The NRA has a tradition of backing candidates who embrace their views for supporting the Second Amendment regardless of party affiliation.
    The NRA’s decision came down to endorsing either Summers or former Independent Governor Angus King. Both candidates have a political record supporting gun rights, but on Oct. 18 the NRA president David Keene traveled to the Maine Military Store in Holden to personally endorse Summers.
The NRA based their endorsement on Summers’ 100 percent voting record during his two terms in the Maine Senate. Keene believes Summers has a stronger commitment to gun-owners rights than King.
During the Oct. 18 endorsement, Keene indicated that King’s affiliation with Bloomberg and “Americans Elect” meant he didn’t have the same resolve that Summers had in protecting the Second Amendment.
Summers believes the NRA endorsement is an important lift for his campaign. Summers has trailed King ever since he won the GOP nomination. As the campaign enters its final days, he believes the NRA endorsement is even more significant him because Keene personally delivered it.
“It’s a big boost for us. The NRA just didn’t make an endorsement, he came all the way from Virginia to deliver it. That shows how important they believe this race is for gun ownership rights,” Summers said.
The NRA endorsement has been one of the highlights for Summers since the campaign began earlier in the year. Summers entered the race when U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe decided earlier in the year not to seek re-election. Summers won a five-way GOP primary in June.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also endorsed Summers. The chamber was also a vocal opponent of the Affordable Care Act. King supports the measure and Summers wants it to be repealed.
Summers opposes the government-mandated prescription to reform the health care system passed in 2010. He gave the President Obama credit for bringing the issue to forefront. Summers opposes several mandates in “Obamacare” stating the legislation is “ill-conceived.”
He opposes the legislation because it reduces $716 billion in Medicare spending. Summers stated this would have devastating impact on seniors.
“This results in a $2.8 billion cut in Maine. We can’t do that to our seniors who are depending on it,” Summers said.
Summers favors creating more competition in the private insurance industry. He proposes allowing both businesses and individuals to purchase policies across state lines and making insurance premium’s tax 100 percent deductible.
Summers has campaigned on the theme that he is the one candidate who “opposes Obamacare, opposes more government spending and taxes.” He believes Maine’s next senator needs to be fiscally conservative.
“As governor, King increased spending by 51 percent and left Maine with a $1.2 billion deficit, and left us with the highest tax burden in the nation,” Summers said. “Or you have somebody like me who opposes more spending and taxes and has a commitment to balancing the budget.”
Summers has stood firm on his stance against raising taxes. He signed the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” sponsored by Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform Foundation. He also favors a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution and line item veto for the president.
As a senator, Summers would also advocate for a better national energy policy. High energy costs have had a negative impact on Maine industries for nearly a decade. Summers has proposed an “All-of-the-above” solution to high energy costs. He favors increasing U.S. oil production, as well as coal, solar, wind and nuclear power options.
“Energy costs have really hurt our Maine industries such as farming, forestry, fishing and lobstering,” Summers said. “This has really hurt rural Maine and it’s vital that we have an energy policy that makes sense.”
This is the fourth time Summers has ran for federal office. He has ran three times in the First Congressional District. He lost to James Longley, Jr. in the 1994 GOP primary. He also was defeated twice by U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree in 2008 and 2010.
Besides serving as the state’s Secretary of State and in the Maine Legislature, he has also served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1996. Summers is a public affairs officer in the Naval Reserves and has reached the rank of commander.
After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks her served in the Pentagon under former Secretary of the Navy Gordon England. Summers had a temporary assignment in Iraq in 2007. He returned in 2009-10 with assignments in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He served under the command of the former head of the Chief Joints of Staff Adm. Mike Mullins.
Summers also was the New England chief administrator for the Small Business Administration after working for nine years as Snowe’s state field director.
Summers is 52-years old. He resides in Scarborough with his wife. He is also the father of three children.
Editor’s note: A candidate profile on Angus King, who is seeking the U.S. Senate seat as an Independent, ran in the Houlton Pioneer Times on June 6.