Breaking: Stacey Abrams Group Hit with Largest Fine in Georgia History for Violating Campaign Finance Law

A Democratic advocacy group founded by former Representative Stacey Abrams and once led by Senator Raphael Warnock were fined $300,000 on Wednesday for breaking Georgia’s campaign finance law.

Georgia’s ethics commission found that the New Georgia Project and its affiliated action fund raised $4.2 million and spent $3.2 million to support Abrams during the 2018 election cycle when she ran for governor. The groups failed to disclose those partisan contributions in violation of state campaign finance law. Abrams ultimately lost to Republican Brian Kemp, who defeated her again in 2022.

The two entities agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty, the largest fine in the commission’s 38-year history, in two $150,000 installments for 16 instances of illegal activity. The punishment is aimed at the groups, not Abrams and Warnock directly.

The New Georgia Project failed to register as an independent campaign committee and failed to file campaign finance reports of contributions and spending in 2018, showing their support for Abrams and other Democratic candidates.

In 2019, the groups committed the same offense without disclosing $646,000 in contributions and $174,000 in spending to support a voter referendum for Gwinnett County’s citizens to join the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority system. Despite the nonprofit’s efforts, voters rejected the referendum.

While this case was about state law, federal law allows tax-exempt charities to register voters but forbids them from telling voters who to support in an election.

Abrams founded the New Georgia Project in 2013, when she served in the House, to register voters from underrepresented groups in Georgia. She gave up her formal role at the nonprofit in 2017, a spokesperson for Abrams said. Nonetheless, she remained close to its leaders.

Warnock led the voting rights group until he was elected to the Senate in 2020. He did not know anything about campaign finance violations at the time, according to his spokesperson, who said, “Compliance decisions were not a part of that work.”

The state ethics commission’s Republican director, David Emadi, said he “didn't personally find evidence” of Warnock’s direct involvement in failing to disclose the group’s campaign contributions and spending.

The commission, whose members include four Republicans and one Democrat, first accused the group tied to Abrams and Warnock of wrongdoing in 2019. Wednesday’s announcement settles the six-year ethics investigation.

"At a fundamental level, my clients understand and respect the commission's decision on the facts of the law," said New Georgia Project’s lawyer David Fox, "and we believe that this is a reasonable resolution of this longstanding dispute."

The New Georgia Project previously argued it merely acted like other nonprofits and alleged the commission’s Republican majority was waging a politically motivated witch hunt against Abrams to damage her political reputation.

The commission previously fined the advocacy group Gente for Abrams $50,000 in 2020 for failing to register and file reports on $240,000 in spending for Abrams during her 2018 gubernatorial run, the same illegal activity that the New Georgia Project was accused of committing. Gente for Abrams registered after receiving the fine and reported it spent an extra $685,000 to support Abrams in 2018.

Despite losing to Governor Kemp twice, Abrams said last year she is open to a third run in 2026. “All options are on the table,” Abrams said in August 2024, leading up to the presidential election.

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Stacey Abrams Group Hit with Largest Fine in Georgia History for Violating Campaign Finance Law

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