Republican State Representative Laurel Libby of Auburn will not seek re-election and instead is launching a network of organizations to advance conservative priorities in Maine.

Libby says the organizations will include a nonprofit (501(c)4) and a state Political Action Committee, with an overarching communication network. Libby said each will be dedicated to a different piece of the political process to benefit conservative voices in the state. Organizations listed as 501(c)4 are exempt from federal taxes and can engage in political campaigning as long as the activities are not their primary focus.

Libby is also announcing the launch of the Lead Maine Committee, a federal super PAC created in partnership with Sentinel Action Fund, which will support Senator Susan Collins’s re-election next year, and Republicans in future
elections.

Libby made headlines earlier this year when she was censured by the Maine House for posting a transgender high school athlete online but had her speaking and voting rights restored by U.S. Supreme Court.

The episode helped burnish her credentials among Republicans in Maine as a conservative firebrand.