Romney backs Chapman in 9th District race

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April 10--Former Massachusetts governor and 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is endorsing Chatham attorney John Chapman's run to unseat U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., in the 9th Congressional District.

Romney made the endorsement in an email to former supporters that was obtained by the Times.

It urges past donors to contribute "$25, $50 or $100 or whatever you can afford" to Chapman, 49, who served as commissioner of the state Department of Industrial Accidents during Romney's term as governor.

"The 2014 election year is shaping up as a pivotal one for Republicans. Across the country, we are poised to make significant gains in the U.S. Congress, and I believe we have a great opportunity to pick up seats in Massachusetts," Romney wrote.

Twice in the email, Romney cites Chapman's opposition to the Affordable Care Act, the federal law modeled after the health care reform he signed as governor of Massachusetts. Romney said throughout his failed 2012 bid for president that the law was right for Massachusetts but not the nation as a whole.

"Believe me, it's not easy running against the entrenched Democratic establishment in Massachusetts ... but it can be done if we have the right candidate and give him the resources he needs to win," Romney wrote about Chapman.

In 2012, Obama took the 9th Congressional District with 55.5 percent of the vote.

Chapman got the early endorsements of former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Gabriel Gomez, who lost to former U.S. Rep. Edward Markey in a special U.S. Senate election.

"To have his endorsement is just a great honor," Chapman said Wednesday of Romney. "I think it's going to be a very strong endorsement. ... His record as governor speaks for itself."

Also seeking the Republican nomination are Mark Alliegro, a Falmouth cell biologist who won a straw poll in February after the race's first debate; Vincent Cogliano Jr., a Pembroke businessman and former chairman of the Plymouth County GOP; and Daniel Shores, a Sandwich attorney.

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