Charles, who is featured prominently in the Post story, entered the Republican primary by telling voters he would be similar to Trump. His campaign website even listed “MAGA for Bobby Charles” and “Conservatives for Bobby Charles” as potential coalitions for supporters to join — two options that have now completely disappeared from his website.
The Post adds that:
“Charles also had a petition listed on his website asking supporters whether Maine should “open its own Alligator Alcatraz,” referring to the detention center in Florida’s Everglades where migrants have been subject to controversial treatment. Charles’s website referred to the project as “The Lobster Trap,” a nod to the state’s lobster industry.
That petition no longer exists.
When asked about the changes, Charles’ campaign didn’t even deny or spin.
Charles trying to scrub his Trump record now that Trump’s economy is becoming a political liability isn’t surprising. Under this administration, gas and diesel prices are soaring, fewer Mainers have health coverage, and groceries and everyday expenses cost more.
Unfortunately for Charles, deleting Trump from his website doesn’t erase his record. The JD Vance-endorsed candidate has directly tied himself to Trump — supporting Trump’s war in Iran, Trump’s budget law that made health care more expensive, and Trump’s tariffs.
Washington Post: Some candidates are scrubbing their websites. Here is why that matters.
By Dan Merica – Sept 30
Political candidates often scrub certain topics from their websites after they win a primary election. Usually, they dial back more contentious positions they took during the primary and instead focus on issues with broader appeal. It’s a tradition as old as political websites themselves.
But this year, a lot of attention has been paid to how Republicans have quietly been removing mentions of President Donald Trump and his movement from their campaign websites, given the president’s slumping approval rating.
Take Bobby Charles, the Republican nominee for governor in Maine. The former federal official under George W. Bush embraced Trump during the state’s crowded Republican primary, telling reporters he would be similar to Trump and calling the president “an incredible human being.”
Before the primary, his website also listed several “coalitions” that his supporters could join to support them, including MAGA for Bobby Charles and Conservatives for Bobby Charles. Those coalitions have since been removed from Charles’s website.
Charles also had a petition listed on his website asking supporters whether Maine should “open its own Alligator Alcatraz,” referring to the detention center in Florida’s Everglades where migrants have been subject to controversial treatment. Charles’s website referred to the project as “The Lobster Trap,” a nod to the state’s lobster industry.
That petition no longer exists.
Dale Crafts Jr., Charles’ campaign manager, said the Republican’s website “reflects his current thinking and policy views and will be his plan for the state when he is elected Governor on Nov. 3.”
But Republicans removing references to Trump and his movement tells us something: Just weeks before Election Day, Republicans in competitive races are acknowledging that links to an unpopular Trump at least complicate their paths to victory as the president struggles to convince Americans that the war with Iran was worth starting and that he has a handle on the rising prices they feel every day.
###
