Republican Charlie Summers and Democrat Chellie Pingree have a few things in common.

They’re both former small business owners who are originally from out of state, and both are running for Congress for the second time this decade.

But that’s about where the similarities end between the two candidates vying to represent Maine’s 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A native of Illinois, Summers, 47, of Scarborough, ran for Congress in 2004, losing out to Democrat Tom Allen, who is currently running for U.S. Senate. Pingree, 53, who moved to North Haven from Minneapolis as a teenager, ran for Senate in 2002 against Allen’s opponent, Republican Susan Collins.

“I never expected I would run again,” Pingree said last week, but after spending time lobbying Congress as the national president of Common Cause, a government watchdog group, she realized that, instead of trying to convince others how to vote, she’d rather be voting herself.

Previously, Pingree ran an organic farm and owned North Island Designs, which sold yarn and knitting kits. She now owns an inn and restaurant in North Haven.

For Summers, who managed motels and owned Charlie’s Beverage Warehouse before taking a job with U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, the decision to run again came with its own complications. The Navy Reserve public affairs officer was deployed to Iraq in the summer of 2007 and stayed through May 2008, which meant his wife, Ruth, had to take over the campaign.

“Ruth and I had a pretty long heart-to-heart,” he said about having her take over the campaign. He credits her for getting him through the primary.

“It was really amazing what she was able to do,” he said.

Now, back at the helm of his own campaign, Summers has been trying to get to know the workers of Maine by taking on the daily tasks of Mainers in all trades – from candy makers to hairdressers – and hearing about their concerns.

One of the 30 jobs was a shift at McDonald’s in Biddeford. Summers, rag in hand, introduced himself to diners as he wiped up tables and cleared trays.

“People are angry and at the same time fearful of the future,” Summers said about what he’s heard most from working alongside Mainers.

He said he’s talked to a lot of people who are close to retirement age, people who have “played by the rules” throughout their careers and can’t retire because people on Wall Street haven’t been playing by the rules.

“It motivates me to go to Washington and clean these things up,” he said.

One point about Pingree that Summers reiterates is the fact that she has accepted money from hedge funds for her campaign.

According to Pingree, it’s a moot point.

Pingree said she has more than 5,000 contributors to her campaign, and to suggest that one of them will influence her to change her stance on cracking down on Wall Street – or any of her positions -“is just not going to happen.”

Both Pingree and Summers said the state of the economy and the war in Iraq are two prominent issues they’re looking to take on in Congress.

For Pingree, there’s an inextricable link.

“We can’t afford to spend $400 million a day in Iraq,” she said.

Furthermore, by ending the war, she sees the resolution of another issue – the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, which, she said, is why the war started.

While Pingree would like to see the troops removed within the next 18 months, Summers, who said he’s seen first-hand how life in Iraq has changed for the better since the start of the war, has a different idea. He would like to see troop levels maintained for the next year, while training Iraqis to take over and deploying the Peace Corps in a different sort of “surge.”

The war is only one of the main issues facing the country on which the two candidates differ. Summers sees drilling American oil as a transition to alternative energy, whereas Pingree wants to see a quicker transition to clean energy and an end to dependence on fossil fuel. Pingree supports a single-payer health care system in America, while Summers would like to see private coverage made more available and have the cost of health care deducted from federal taxes.

According to Pingree, aside from the issues, it’s their experience as politicians that separates the two candidates.

Pingree spent four terms in the state Senate, the maximum allowed under term limits, and was the Senate majority leader for half that time. She sponsored the Maine RX program, which allowed the state to negotiate lower drug prices for seniors and others without prescription drug coverage – a bill strongly opposed by the pharmaceutical industry.

Though Summers only spent four years as a state senator, the role of underdog is not new to him – he was elected for the first time in 1990, beating out a longtime representative.

Both candidates do agree that the country is at a crossroads.

“People are so frustrated and angry. They’re more ready to change than they’ve ever been,” said Pingree. “I’d really like to be a part of that.”

Summers sees change pending, too, and he’s optimistic about what’s ahead.

“We’re going to come out of this, and we’re going to come out a stronger and better country,” he said.

Republican Charlie Summers buses tables at Biddeford McDonald’s earlier this month. The task was one of 30 he says he took on in an attempt to get to know the workers of Maine better.Democrat Chellie Pingree speaks with supporters Friday evening at a campaign event at the Empire Dine and Dance on Congress Street in Portland.