Rep. Laurel Libby, whose viral social media posts earlier this year that singled out a transgender athlete sparked President Donald Trump’s targeting of Maine, has broken a fundraising record she already holds ahead of the 2026 campaign.
Libby, 44, an Auburn Republican first elected to the Maine House in 2020, raised more than $137,000 through June 30, according to campaign finance filings that were due last week. That tops her $132,000 haul last year, which was the highest by more than $30,000 among all legislative candidates and more than any state representative hopeful on record.
The sizable sum is another sign of Libby’s stature among Maine’s Republican base after her February posts that called out and included photos of a transgender female student who had won a track and field title raised her profile nationally.
Word of the viral post made it that same week to Trump, who then verbally sparred with Gov. Janet Mills during a White House event with other governors before his administration began targeting Maine’s federal funding. It also prompted punishment of Libby from the Democratic-led House that escalated the controversy and was partially overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Libby and her tactics have rubbed not only Democrats but also some of her fellow Republicans the wrong way over the years. She unsuccessfully sought in 2022 her party’s top House post that instead went to House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor.
But she remains as prominent a state-level figure as the party has in elected office today. The Dinner Table, her political action group, has raised large sums of money and led the effort to put a voter ID referendum that also seeks absentee ballot limits on the 2026 ballot.
Libby’s contributions to next year’s House reelection campaign include a roughly $49,000 transfer from the 2024 campaign and about $18,400 from supporters who each gave no more than $50. She also received the maximum $500 for the primary and general campaigns from corporate leaders in different states.
That included an intriguing donation from Netflix cofounder and Utah ski resort owner Reed Hastings, who has been a prolific Democratic donor nationally. Not included in the most recent report is Leonard Leo, the conservative legal titan who has previously donated to Libby’s network and who owns a home on Mount Desert Island.
Libby has nearly $117,000 on hand and plenty of connections should she choose to seek higher office. She said this month she is exploring joining the 2026 field seeking to succeed Mills, the Democratic governor who is termed out of office. A Pan Atlantic Research poll released in June had Libby leading the Republican field of both official and rumored candidates for governor.
She is far ahead of the relatively few other state lawmakers who have reported receiving contributions. In second place was Rep. Adam Lee, a Democrat also from Auburn who raised about $5,100, according to the state’s campaign finance database.
