Republican candidate for governor and State Sen. Jim Libby is dropping out of the race after failing to qualify for public campaign funding.
The state commission which oversees campaign finance said Thursday Libby didn’t submit the necessary number of $5 donations to qualify for access to funding from the Maine Clean Election program.
The commission also said that one person collecting contributions for Libby falsely claimed they had collected $5 donations from some individuals when he had not.
Candidates for governor are required to collect at least 3,200 $5 donations to qualify for the funding.
Libby was among more than a dozen people running to replace Governor Janet Mills when she’s term-limited out of office.
