While the National Rifle Association had no trouble endorsing Republican gubernatorial hopeful Paul LePage, who scored an A+ in the gun rights group’s report card, it spurned the chance to renew past endorsements of Republican congressional challenger Bruce Poliquin of Orrington.
Though Poliquin got an A grade from the NRA this year and Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Lewiston collected a B, the NRA opted not to make a choice between the two in Maine’s hotly contested 2nd District race. Independent contender Tiffany Bond of Portland was not graded.
Four years ago, when Golden knocked Poliquin out of office, the Democrat carried a D rating from the NRA, based on his legislative record in Augusta. In Washington, though, Golden has generally opposed his party on gun-related bills that reached the House floor.
This marks the first time Poliquin has been on the congressional ballot without the NRA’s endorsement.
In the governor’s race, the NRA gave Democratic incumbent Janet Mills a C.
It is worth noting that the Republican candidate’s daughter, Lauren LePage, is a registered lobbyist for the NRA.
In the first district race in Maine, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, got an F from the group. Her GOP challenger, Ed Thelander, got an AQ score, but no endorsement.
An AQ means the person doesn’t have a voting record on gun rights issues.
The NRA also issued grades in most of the state House and state Senate races. They can be found online at nrapvf.org/grades/maine.
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