A once-prominent political group founded by two-time failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is shutting down months after being hit with massive fines for ethics violations, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported Thursday.
The New Georgia Project, founded by Abrams in 2013 and later chaired by Democrat Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, once wielded major influence in Georgia politics, boasting a multimillion-dollar budget and credit for registering thousands of new Democratic voters. Its troubles escalated after the group was hit with a record $300,000 fine for campaign finance violations in January.
The Georgia Ethics Commission found that the nonprofit and its affiliate, New Georgia Project Action Fund, had not disclosed roughly $4.2 million in contributions and $3.2 million in expenditures, mostly used to support Abrams during her 2018 primary and general elections.
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Though the organization claimed to be a “nonpartisan” advocate for “Black Georgians, brown Georgians, young people, LGBTQ+ folks, rural Georgians, and others who have the power to move our state forward,” both entities engaged in overtly partisan activities without registering as an independent political action committee, according to the state ethics commission’s consent order.
Both organizations ultimately admitted to every allegation the state ethics commission had levied against them — amounting to more than 15 violations of state campaign finance laws in total — after years of denying wrongdoing and dismissing accusations that they illegally aided Abrams, according to the AJC.
The organization’s collapse follows a year of mounting turmoil, including the departure of key staffers, internal allegations of sexual harassment, and difficulties raising funds amid growing concerns about financial mismanagement. A Georgia Senate committee also launched an investigation into the group and its ties to Abrams in March.
The group’s board of directors announced its dissolution, but encouraged supporters to continue supporting “values of justice, integrity, and equity,” according to the AJC.
Abrams left the organization in 2017, while Warnock stepped down in 2020 after serving as chair for over two years.
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