Megadonor is funding a Maine Republican’s return to state politics

After his effort to join Congress fell short this year, state Rep. Mike Soboleski is now looking to grow his influence in Augusta with a large assist from a Republican megadonor.

Soboleski, a first-term legislator from Phillips who lost handily to state Rep. Austin Theriault in June’s 2nd Congressional District primary for the chance to take on U.S. Jared Golden, D-Maine, is seeking reelection to his State House district covering part of western Maine.

He is also launching a political action committee that is currently funded almost entirely by Thomas Klingenstein, the head of a group that The New York Times called a “nerve center” for the new American right. It is a sign of additional ambition from Soboleski, a Marine veteran who has been a stuntman, car salesman and nightclub owner.

Klingenstein, a partner in a Wall Street investment firm, has donated $50,000 to Soboleski’s Maine Issues & Action PAC, per campaign finance records, with Soboleski the only other contributor by chipping in $2,000. Klingenstein chairs The Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank based in Upland, California, that was an early backer of ex-President Donald Trump.

Klingenstein’s biography on the institute’s website describes him as a philanthropist, public speaker, writer and playwright who “believes we are in a cold civil war and that our enemy — what he calls the ‘Woke regime’ — are winning, in large measure because Republican leaders have yet to engage. He encourages Republicans to “think, talk and act as if we are at war.”

He has been one of the largest individual donors to Republican candidates and committees across the country in recent years. His most notable effort in Maine so far was spending nearly $3 million to fund a group that attacked Gov. Janet Mills during her 2022 run against former Gov. Paul LePage, running ads with false claims that included accusing the Democratic governor of putting “disgusting” books with LGBTQ+ themes in schools.

The Claremont Institute’s media relations team did not respond to a call and email seeking comment from Klingenstein. Soboleski said while running for Congress, he “had the opportunity to create relationships with many great people, like Tom, who believe in my vision for Maine.”

Soboleski said his political committee will officially launch Sept. 10, adding he created it to support Republican candidates and “identify the issues affecting our state and take action to fix them.”

Asked whether he will seek a leadership position in the House Republican caucus, Soboleski only said he is focused on his November reelection campaign and trying to help the GOP win control of the lower chamber. Democrats hold a 79-67 majority in the House and have controlled the House, Senate and the governor’s seat since Mills won it in 2018.

Soboleski would have to win over enough party colleagues to rise to a higher post in the House GOP caucus. He has pointed to his accomplishments as a minority party member to author several bills that later became law, including a measure that gives the Legislature final say over motor vehicle emission standards after debate over controversial electric vehicle rules .

Asked about his plans for next session, the current top Republican, House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham of Winter Harbor, said the “only thing I’m focused on is getting candidates elected and winning the majority in the Maine House so the people of Maine can stop suffering from bad policies by the Democrats in Augusta.”

Soboleski is up for reelection in November against independent Tiffany Bond, a family law attorney from Rangeley who ran as a longshot candidate for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District in 2018 and 2022.