Maine Governorship Campaign – Expect Surprises

My days – like yours probably – are sunup to midnight. Mine include running for Governor of Maine, an educational process, wonderous, arduous, and enjoyable. Days are filled with calls, visits, fielding concerns, and last week, a gun shop and Right to Life dinner – like family – finally drop-ins north to Ellsworth and south to Old Orchard. Occasionally, I spend days at home. On those days, I expect no surprises. I should know better.

Last week was a nod to our Founding Fathers. After talking with law enforcement, calling conservative donors, reading, writing, FOX, Real America’s Voice, and George Hale & Ric Tyler interviews, I got the chance to visit a famous gun shop.

Folks rolling with me noted the 2^nd Amendment would come up – of course. Democrats continue trying to jam unconstitutional “red flag” laws on Mainers, a foil for gun confiscation, never learning Mainers like their guns, want to keep them. 

One Democrat candidate for Governor is a former Secretary of State, who tried to strip Mainers of their vote for Trump – reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court. A second is the right hand of anti-gun Governor Mills, the legacy daughter of a left-leaning congresswoman. The third is a former Democrat legislator, deep into gun control.

As quick as those Democrats condemn gun owners, push restrictions, and spread fear, I leap the other way, an NRA hunter at 12, Eagle Scout easy with .22s and shotguns, Gun Owners of Maine and NRA member, trained on 9 mm Glock 19 and Sig Sauer in the Navy, own many guns.

To me, gun ownership is like driving a car, something every kid should know, every adult wants to know, worth time training to do well, as much a responsibility as a right. A couple of years ago, I redid my tactical training again, just to be sure I could still handle things well.

Why? Gun ownership is like knowing how to drive, fly, change a tire, speak in public, defend your rights, flyfish, or hunt. It is something you do not want to forget, have to practice, and keep sharp. We only hold our rights – if we use them.

More to the point, gun use keeps you good at something, like listening and talking life with people, campaigning for a state you love, and also fun. So, I went into the gun shop and listened to what worried them – Democrat tax increases, Democrat regulations, Democrat restrictions.

As I listened, my eyes wandered skyward to a rack of guns along the back wall, guns lined up like black and white keys on a piano keyboard, ready to be played, eager to be played, beautiful.

The time came for me to speak. My mind, however, was on the back wall, specifically an old .30-30 Winchester lever-action rifle, the sort talented hunters out West deployed from a horse, utterly enchanting. I asked to see it, waving off advice from those with me. The thing was gorgeous.

The next half hour passed in three minutes, as I learned, held that thing of beauty, remembered the heft of a .30-30 is like an old friend, favored bat, feel of football threads, trumpet keys to someone who once played, comforting.

Long story short, the rifle was not expensive. In a fit of indulgence, I bought it, will shoot this weekend. The truth is, after an hour of conversation about guns, I forgot to mention the campaign.

Walking out, having offered a last-minute pitch for governor, I turned to those with me and apologized. I missed the cues, just loved the gun. They smiled. Guess they know where I stand.

Then came Portland, that wonderful Right to Life dinner. Not a single other gubernatorial, congressional, or US Senate candidate attended. I do not know why. The night was a celebration of life, how precious it is, a reminder of the deceits used to steal this gift from mothers.  

The life-changing, gut-wrenching stories of Dr. Abby Johnson, prayer, and simplification of things to what matters, politics set aside for the protection of life, were like a warm breeze, filled with hope.

Then came the day at home – at last. All was quiet, calls made, writing, and a sense of peace settling, until a neighbor called, and soon I was over their way. Why? In the waters before my home, deep in the woods, beside my house – a young moose was swimming, not common.

He seemed to be telling me to take nothing for granted, expect the unexpected, from moose to moose hunters booing the governor – Maine is a free state. My mission is to keep it that way.

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC. Robert Charles has also just released an uplifting new book, “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024).