BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 22, 2022
The conservative-leaning hunting and fishing Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine is best known for fighting referendums on gun control and banning bear baiting, but Maine’s four-year period of Democratic control has changed its place in state politics. That is largely because the two Democrats sitting at the top of the ticket — Gov. Janet Mills and Rep. Jared Golden of Maine’s 2nd District — have been friendly to the group in policy areas from gun rights to conservation. All of that has upended things for the alliance, which abandoned endorsements this year in favor of a 12-page guide to Maine’s federal and state elections that was released on Thursday. Mills got an A grade, while LePage drew an incomplete score after his withdrawal. Golden got an A+ and former Rep. Bruce Poliquin, a Republican, got an A after the group endorsed him in 2018. The group’s grades favor Republicans in legislative races.