The Fair Fight political and advocacy organization that Stacey Abrams founded is laying off staffers and narrowing its mission as it struggles with mounting debt from lengthy court battles over voting rights that racked up massive legal bills.
Lauren Groh-Wargo, who left the organization in 2021 to manage Abrams’ unsuccessful campaign for governor, said in an interview that she’s returning as interim chief executive to lead a “restructuring” as it faces $2.5 million in debt with only $1.9 million in cash in the bank.
The organization’s voting rights, media, fundraising and grassroots organizing efforts will be slashed, and it will pare back its use of outside consultants and vendors. Some 20 employees — or 75% of the staff — will be cut.
Fair Fight’s board chair, Salena Jegede, said rising litigation costs and slowing fundraising have left Fair Fight with a “serious funding deficit that makes our current trajectory unsustainable.”
“While we are disappointed by these realities, we are not discouraged,” Jegede said. “We will adapt to this new phase of the fight for democracy by restructuring the organization to focus on how we serve Georgia and American voters for the 2024 cycle and beyond.”
The cuts are a blow to the organization Abrams launched after her first defeat to Brian Kemp in the 2018 governor’s race. Aside from waging a legal battle to expand voting rights, it also operated as a de facto shadow political organization for the Democrat’s comeback bid in 2022.
It quickly became a fundraising behemoth with national ambitions, collecting more than $100 million over its first three years. It promoted Abrams-backed policies and financed hard-hitting ads pummeling Kemp and his allies. One 30-second spot ran in Georgia during the 2019 Super Bowl.
Republicans were so worried about its impact that both Kemp and former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler launched rival political machines to rally GOP voters. Loeffler specifically framed her organization, Greater Georgia, as the Republican answer to Fair Fight.
In 2021, Republican lawmakers passed a law allowing Kemp and a few others to create “leadership committees” to skirt campaign contribution limits to help the incumbent compete financially with Abrams and Fair Fight.
Abrams stepped down as board chair shortly before she launched her second bid for governor in December 2021, but the group kept close ties to her campaign. Financial disclosures showed a $1.5 million donation from Fair Fight to a pro-Abrams committee, along with at least $2 million worth of Fair Fight staff time.
Now, though, Fair Fight is struggling. Financial reports show the organization is still benefiting from thousands of small, reoccurring contributions from donors — but its fundraising is far off the record-breaking financial hauls it once took in.
Meanwhile, its expenditures mounted as it waged yearslong — and losing — voting rights battles in federal court. A Politico investigation found that Fair Fight spent more than $25 million on legal fees over 2021 and 2022.
Of that, $9.4 million went to a small law firm headed by Abrams’ onetime gubernatorial campaign chairwoman, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of Fair Fight’s tax filings.
Fair Fight also reported spending $13.2 million on media services with AL Media, a political advertising and media company that has created ads not just for Fair Fight but also the Democratic National Committee, the senatorial reelection campaign of Raphael Warnock,D-Ga., and Abrams’ campaign. An AJC review of campaign finance records shows Abrams and her leadership committee paid AL Media almost $60 million for advertising and other services in recent years.
In 2023, Fair Fight Action — the group’s political arm — and other plaintiffs were ordered to repay the state $231,000 after it lost a lawsuit filed days after the 2018 election challenging Georgia’s voter registration and absentee ballot process.
And this month, a federal judge dealt another blow to Fair Fight by ruling that the mass challenges of Georgia voters’ eligibility didn’t amount to illegal voter intimidation.
Some Republicans reacted with glee that Fair Fight, which had long targeted Kemp and his allies, had fallen on hard times. Cole Muzio, a conservative activist, characterized the group’s troubles as “inevitable.”
“Gov. Kemp may not have ended (Abrams’) political ambitions,” Muzio said, “but he sure enough ended her political career.”
Groh-Wargo, who will succeed Cianti Stewart-Reid as the group’s CEO, said employees will receive “generous” severances as well as job placement help. She said Abrams is likely to play a yet-to-be determined role in the overhaul.
“I care a lot about the mission of the organization, I’m grateful for the staff and its work, and I want to chart a path forward for its future,” Groh-Wargo said.
Jegede, the board’s chair, said she aims for a new operating model so Fair Fight can be “strongly positioned for the many battles ahead.”
“The incredible need remains, and is only escalating, to fight back against those that seek to disenfranchise voters and take away our agency as Americans,” Jegede said. “Our commitment is unwavering.”
Staff writer James Salzer contributed to this article.
Credit: Jenn Finch for the AJC
Credit: Jenn Finch for the AJC
The full statement from Salena Jegede, chair of Fair Fight’s board:
Fair Fight launched in 2018 with the mission of defending and repairing democracy by fighting voter suppression. We have waged critical legal battles and built statewide and national infrastructure to support our mission. Key to our efforts have been two landmark lawsuits that highlighted the sustained attacks on voting rights and engagement fomented here in Georgia, but with national implications.
These vital lawsuits were elongated by multiple national crises and complicated by a changing legal landscape. This included devastating Supreme Court decisions and intervening new state voter suppression laws that together have stripped judges of the authority to adequately protect voting rights. In addition, a contraction in investment has affected most civic actors in our space.
We had the moral obligation to field these suits on behalf of voters. However, due to the complex nature of litigation, the organization unfortunately faces a serious funding deficit that makes our current trajectory unsustainable. While we are disappointed by these realities, we are not discouraged. We will adapt to this new phase of the fight for democracy by restructuring the organization to focus on how we serve Georgia and American voters for the 2024 cycle and beyond. This will require tough choices to meet outstanding financial obligations and right-size for the work ahead. We are saddened by the effect this reorganization will have on our dedicated staff, but we know that the importance of our work requires difficult decisions in the short-term to meet the challenges ahead.
As we chart our new path forward, we want to thank the staff and supporters that have made this work possible. The current Executive Director has resigned her position; therefore, we have asked Lauren Groh-Wargo to retake the helm as interim CEO. Based on her exemplary performance as the organization’s inaugural leader, we are confident in her ability to guide Fair Fight through this next phase and ensure it continues to meet the moment in these challenging times for our democracy. Our goal is to revise the operating model so that the organization can endure and be strongly positioned for the many battles ahead. The incredible need remains, and is only escalating, to fight back against those that seek to disenfranchise voters and take away our agency as Americans. Our commitment is unwavering.
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