I am responding to the July 16 op-ed from Ralph Benko, a resident of Maryland who, like Charles, once worked in the Reagan White House (“In Maine, Bobby Charles vs. Hannah Pingree is the race that matters”).

Benko, in a shallow attempt at reimaging, portrays Bobby Charles as a classic center-right Republican. Instead, I believe that Charles is a MAGA Republican. His proposals posted on his website are dominated by traditional, far-right Republican fear-mongering about crime, government waste and fraud.

The following excerpts from Charles’ website demonstrate this:

• “We will … slash the bloated ‘woke’ bureaucracy in our school systems…” 
• “On Day One, sign an Executive Order directing all Maine state agencies, including DHHS and law enforcement, to fully cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
• “Augusta has become a bloated, unaccountable swamp that protects negligence and shields those who misuse public money.”

Benko’s op-ed appears to be a campaign-backed attempt to rebrand Charles as a centrist that falls flat in the face of his own campaign policies and statements posted on his website. And, we do not need someone from Maryland advising Maine voters on our candidates for governor.

John Grew
Cape Elizabeth