Maine Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby partners with a conservative super PAC to invest $4 million in Sen. Susan Collins' 2026 re-election campaign.

In Maine's latest statewide election, half of the absentee ballots cast and counted were returned by Democratic voters, more than twice the number by Republicans.

That's significantly lower than during presidential years but was higher than the past two, referendum-only elections in the state.

A total of 47% of registered voters cast ballots in the November election, the highest percentage for an off-year election in 15 years.

At the congressional level, though, the 2nd District behaved differently, electing first Bruce Poliquin to succeed Democrat Mike Michaud, then Democrat Jared Golden. Golden consistently won reelection by winning over many Trump-LePage voters, but he also drew the ire of his own party time and time again.

Maine's firebrand GOP state Rep. Laurel Libby says she won’t seek re-election and plans to create a conservative PAC to help re-elect Republican Sen. Susan Collins

The Auburn Republican has been a prolific fundraiser in conservative circles for several years. But she gained more attention this year by helping to spark the fight between the Mills administration and the Trump White House over transgender athletes.

A UBURN, Maine (WMTW) - Republican Maine State Representative Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) has announced that she won’t seek reelection in 2026 and will instead work to “mobilize grassroots Mainers” to support conservative policies and candidates through a network of new organizations.

Now that the dust has settled on the November 2025 elections, it’s worth noting that — once again — elections in Maine lacked even the allegation of illegal voting that lay at the heart of Question 1.

Her profile echoes that of Ruben Gallego, Arizona’s rising Democratic star in the Senate: Hispanic, working-class roots, military service. Mendoza is flipping to a page in the GOP playbook; in recent cycles, the Republicans have run Hispanic women in border districts to deliver the party’s message with authority.

The National Labor Relations Board notified Northern Maine Medical Center on Sept 15 that the registered nurses have asked that