AUGUSTA – Both contestants in Maine’s 1st District congressional race have won new endorsements.

The Blethen Maine Newspapers in central Maine – Augusta’s Kennebec Journal and the Morning Sentinel in Waterville – endorsed Democrat Chellie Pingree on Tuesday. The newspapers said she’s “personable, a good listener and a refreshingly skeptical politician.” The papers also offer Pingree some advice: to keep up her guard around Washington Beltway types.

Also Tuesday, the Vets for Freedom political action committee said it’s buying radio ads for Republican Charlie Summers as part of its effort to generate support for pro-mission, pro-victory candidates in the war on terrorism. The veterans group says Summers is one of seven candidates in key districts across the country for whom it’s taking out radio ads.