Former state Health Commissioner John Stephen (R) was endorsed by the American Conservative Union Political Action Committee on Tuesday.

Stephen and former Rep. Jeb Bradley are running in the Sept. 9 Republican primary. The winner will face freshman Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D) in November.

“Stephen is the only candidate to consistently support increasing our domestic energy supply by opening a tiny portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration and using environmentally sound technology to drill offshore while his primary opponent voted repeatedly to reject these measures,” ACU PAC Chairman David Keene said.

Bradley beat Stephen in a 2002 GOP primary; Shea-Porter in turn upset Bradley in her 2006 victory.

The more conservative of the state’s two Congressional districts, the 1st district gave President Bush 51 percent of the vote during the 2004 White House election.