Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives in January 2023. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

An outspoken and conservative lawmaker from Auburn has emerged as a powerful force in Republican politics heading into the election, with her network of political action committees outspending the official campaign arm of House Republicans.

Rep. Laurel Libby is running her own reelection campaign in hopes of winning a third term, but she’s also sending hundreds of thousands of dollars into other battleground races statewide to help fellow Republicans get elected to the House. Libby’s fundraising ability and desire to spread the wealth are signs of her own personal ambition to rise through the ranks, and they could provide a significant boost for the Republican quest to take control of the House.

Democrats currently have a 12-seat majority in the lower chamber, which also has two independents and three vacant seats. But the majority party is leaving 21 seats undefended by incumbents, creating a mathematical advantage that Republicans hope will help them take control in the Nov. 5 election.

As of Oct. 16, Libby’s political network, which includes three political action committees and a grassroots “Speak Up for Life” campaign to push back against the expansion of abortion, have spent over $257,000 in 10 House races. Nearly all of that has come from the Dinner Table PAC, which she co-founded. And the Dinner Table committee remains flush with cash, reporting about $250,000 on hand at the end of September.

Spending reports show that the Dinner Table PAC is focusing exclusively on nine seats currently held by Democrats and independents. Six are open seats and three have incumbents seeking reelection.

Libby’s network has become a political force, said Garrett Mason, who served four terms in the Senate when Republican Paul LePage was governor, including two terms as the Republican Majority Leader. Mason said Libby, through her passion and hard work, has been able to organize and activate people around conservative causes in Maine – something that others have had difficulty doing in the past.

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“With those things absolutely come political ambition,” said Mason, who now owns a consulting firm that helps Republican candidates. “There’s no doubt that she’s probably positioning herself for something in the future.”

Libby, who got involved in politics as a citizen activist in 2019, ran unsuccessfully against Billy Bob Faulkingham to be House minority leader two years ago. Last year, she expressed an interest in challenging Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, for his seat in Congress, but didn’t end up running. And she is actively involved with national conservative groups such as the Club for Growth, Young Americans for Liberty and the Leadership Institute.

Libby, 43, said she’s keeping an open mind about her political future.

“I haven’t ruled anything out,” Libby said. “My next move will be a continuation of what I have already been working to do and that is to advance greater freedom and prosperity in Maine and to make Maine people’s voices heard in their government.”

Rep. Laurel Libby, right, congratulates Bob Brainerd for being named the Auburn Business Association’s 2024 Citizen of the Year at the Auburn Senior Community Center on May 8. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Libby’s network includes multiple political action committees, which sometimes overlap and bring in money through other, related committees and fundraising arms.

Her leadership PAC, Fight for Freedom, has raised nearly $160,000. Over $100,000 came from For Our Future, a PAC controlled by her treasurer, Alex Titcomb, that has received $375,000 from the Concord Fund, which is connected to Leonard Leo, a major conservator donor and activist who played a central role in creating a conservative U.S. Supreme Court.

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Fight for Freedom had not spent directly on any legislative races, but it has given over $25,000 to the Dinner Table PAC, and reported $89,000 in cash on hand through the end of September.

The committees are among a long list of outside groups pouring millions of dollars into key legislative races.

As of Saturday, outside groups had spent nearly $2.9 million on House and Senate races. A majority of that spending, $1.8 million, is going into Senate races. The remaining $1.1 million is going into House races. Democrats and their allies have spent $1.5 million, compared to the $1.3 million spent by Republicans and their allies.

TARGETING HOUSE RACES

So far, the Dinner Table PAC is the top spender on House races, investing more than $253,000 in nine races, including six open seats currently held by Democrats. The PAC is also looking to unseat two Democrats – Rep. Anne Graham, of North Yarmouth, in District 105 and Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio, of Sanford, in District 142 – and independent William Pluecker, of Warren, in District 44.

That’s $51,000 more than the official campaign arm of House Republicans have spent. The House Republican Campaign Fund, led by Faulkingham, has spent nearly $202,000 on 26 different House races, including 15 pickup opportunities. Of those, eight seats do not have an incumbent and seven do – six Democrats and one independent. As of Sept. 30, the House Republican Fund had nearly $613,000 in cash on hand.

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Another Republican-aligned political action committee has recently overtaken the Dinner Table PAC in independent spending for non-party groups, although most of its spending has focused on Senate races.

Renew the American Dream had spent $310,200 through Oct. 16, including $102,000 on House races and $208,000 on Senate races. Most of that PAC’s spending – $254,000 – has been spent on ads attacking Democrats.

The PAC is controlled by Dale Crafts, a former Republican state lawmaker who ran unsuccessfully against Golden in the 2nd Congressional District in 2020.

Rep. Laurel Libby talks to a group during a Speak Up for Life event at New City Church in Bath in March 2023. At the event, Libby and others trained attendees on how to show up to testify against a bill as well as how to write an email to their legislators or letters to the editor of their local paper. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Libby, a registered nurse and interior designer, got into politics to push back efforts to end religious and philosophical exemptions for child vaccinations. She helped collect signatures for an unsuccessful people’s veto campaign to restore the exemptions, after they were removed by the Legislature.

She won her first election the following year, unseating two-term Democratic incumbent, Bettyann Sheats, by about 9 percentage points. Libby was an outspoken critic of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations during the pandemic and was among the seven Republican lawmakers to lose committee assignments for flouting mask rules. She ran unopposed in 2022.

Libby and her network were instrumental in turning out large crowds to oppose Democratic proposals to expand abortion access and to protect health care professionals who provide abortion services and gender-affirming health care, resulting in hours of testimony that stretched late into the night. More than 2,000 people packed the State House to testify against expanding access to abortion last year.

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And Libby delivered passionate floor speeches on both topics, as well as speaking out forcefully against other Democratic bills from election reform to tax increases.

She has also shown a willingness to buck her own party leadership. Libby spoke and voted against a Republican bill targeting foreign citizens’ ability to own land in Maine and efforts to crack down on illegal pot growing operations by monitoring electricity usage, which she argued was unconstitutional.

During one floor debate, Libby drew criticism from Democrats when speaking against a bill banning paramilitary activity, because she believed it violated one’s First Amendment Right to free speech and association and Second Amendment Right to bear arms. The bill was in response to reporting that a Neo-Nazi group had attempted to set up a training facility in rural Maine.

“So, let’s talk about the Nazis,” Libby said. “I would like to know what they did that was illegal. … Holding a rally, and even holding a rally with guns, is not illegal. That is within our rights, Madam Speaker.”

FACING A CHALLENGE

This year, Libby is facing a tough challenge for her District 90 seat in Auburn from Democrat Daniel Campbell, a longtime high school counselor and coach of track and field, cross country and Nordic Skiing.

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Campbell, 72, said he was recruited by Gov. Janet Mills to run against Libby. He decided to heed the call, so he could help better meet the needs of people in his community.

Democrat Daniel Campbell is challenging Rep. Laurel Libby for her seat representing House District 90 in Auburn. Campbell is a longtime high school counselor and coach of track and field, cross country and Nordic Skiing. Contributed photo

“I believe that her ambition has drawn great attention to herself and those people who believe in her,” Campbell said. “I believe she’s a hard worker, but her intention is to promote herself, because she probably thinks she can do more if she’s promoted up the chain of leadership roles. … All I want to do is represent the people.”

Campbell said he has been working with the homeless population in the Lewiston area for the last four years or so. It was something he was inspired to do after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis and defying the odds to beat it back into remission.

Since then, he has been meeting with homeless people, learning about their needs and advocating on their behalf, including establishing a 24-hour emergency shelter.

“That’s part of the reason I’m running for office – so I can approach it from a different angle,” he said.

Campbell is running as a clean elections candidate, which has provided $20,000 for his campaign, of which about $15,500 was remaining.

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About $11,600 in outside spending has been directed at the race between Campbell and Libby. None of it comes from Libby’s PACs, since that could be a campaign finance violation.

Nearly all of the outside spending in their race is aiming at helping Campbell unseat Libby, with the Citizens to Support Public Schools spending nearly $6,000 in support and the Maine Democratic State Committee spending about $5,000 to oppose Libby, who supports school choice.

But Libby has proven to be a prolific fundraiser for her own reelection campaign as well as for her political action committees. This year, she has raised over $100,000 for her reelection and had $76,000 in cash hand.

Libby plans to remain politically active whether she wins reelection or not. She is currently leading a signature-gathering effort to enact a voter ID law in the state though a citizen initiative.

“In Augusta or out of Augusta, I have the same opportunity and ability to speak on behalf of Maine people and make their voices heard and advance greater freedom and prosperity in Maine,” Libby said.

Libby, who is married to a physical therapist and has five children, said hers is a fight for the future of children.

“I want my kids – and other people’s kids – to have the prosperous future that I know is possible in this state,” Libby said. “I can see that potential. I can see what we can do and what Maine can be and that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.”

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