New Georgia Project, Led by Raphael Warnock, Fined $300,000 for Campaign Finance Violations in 2018 Georgia Election

Jan 15, 2025, 10:57 PM

The New Georgia Project, a nonprofit founded by Stacey Abrams, has agreed to pay a $300,000 fine for violating Georgia campaign finance laws during the 2018 gubernatorial election. The group, along with its affiliated New Georgia Project Action Fund, admitted to 16 violations, including failing to disclose $4.2 million in contributions and $3.2 million in expenditures used to support Abrams' campaign. The violations also extended to a 2019 referendum, where the group failed to report $646,000 in contributions and $174,000 in expenditures. The violations included not registering as a political committee and not reporting their campaign activities, which involved canvassing, distributing literature, and social media engagement. The fine, imposed by the Georgia Ethics Commission, is the largest in the state's history for such violations. At the time of the violations, the group was led by Raphael Warnock, who later became a U.S. Senator.