Republicans Dean Scontras and Charlie Summers are sparring over a new radio ad that Scontras' campaign has released. The two are vying for the Republican nomination for the 1st Congressional District.

Here's the audio of the ad, and here's the transcript:

NARRATOR: Charlie Summers voted for the largest tax increase in Maine's history.

DEAN SCONTRAS: I'm Dean Scontras and I approve this message because Mainers can't afford career politicians who've made Maine one of the highest taxed states.  In Congress I'll fight to lower taxes, cut government spending, and bring more jobs to Maine.

The Summers campaign responded quickly with a press release challenging Scontras to pull the ad off the air.

"For my opponent to attempt to distort my solid record as a fiscal conservative clearly demonstrates that he has no grasp on the difficult worker's compensation climate that Maine was burdened with in the early 1990s," Summers said in a prepared statement. "I was glad to stand up for Maine's family businesses by forcing worker's compensation reform through the Legislature during my first term in the Maine State Senate."

"It was a difficult but principled position to take and had a positive long term effect on Maine's small businesses at a time when my opponent didn't even reside in the state of Maine.  I look forward to keeping this campaign focused on the issues that matter most to the voters: healthcare, taxes, energy and the economy."

Summers also said in the press release, "It didn't take long for my opponent to launch a negative campaign against me.  Obviously he is behind in the polls and clearly desperate."

Michael Pajak, Scontras' campaign manager, said that he doesn't know what polls the Summers campaign is referencing. So far there has been no public, independent polling in the race.

Pajak acknowledged that the ad's tone is negative but said that it deals with Summers' record as a state lawmaker.

Regarding the ad's claim that the 1991 tax increase was the largest in Maine history, Pajak said there may have been a larger one in the last 17 years. But he said that at the time it passed, the 1991 tax hike was the state's largest and broadest ever.

"We won't be pulling the ad," Pajak said.

– Kevin Wack

UPDATE: The Summers campaign has now released its own radio ad as a response. According to the campaign, the Summers ad is airing on WGAN, WLOB and WPOR. Here's an excerpt:

CHARLIE SUMMERS: Well, it didn't take long, did it? I just returned last week from serving in Iraq, where I spent the last nine months, and now my opponent, Dean Scontras, has launched a negative campaign against me. .... The truth is, I’m a fiscal conservative, and in the State Senate, I voted to lower the income tax. I also signed a pledge to oppose any and all tax increases in Congress. And here’s the biggest difference. I spent the last 20 years fighting for Maine. Dean Scontras hasn’t. In fact, he just registered to vote in Maine in 2006.

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