The New Georgia Project, the powerhouse voter mobilization group founded by former Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams, announced it will cease operations, The Associated Press reports.
Founded in 2013, The New Georgia Project has struggled financially in recent years. It was also hit with ethics complaints and a record $300,000 fine in early 2025 from the State Ethics Commission after being accused of violating Georgia campaign finance laws between 2018 and 2019, under the leadership of Sen. Raphael Warnock until his 2020 Senate bid.
Former employees say they were laid off in December 2024 after media reports described the organization, known as an organizing force that helped boost Democratic electoral advances, as a “climate of chaos.” In a statement, organization directors say its closure comes at a time when there is a need for new leadership to step up.
“We recognize that the work of building a just and truthful world remains urgent,” the statement, submitted by board chair Rev. James Woodall, said. “This moment calls for strong and courageous leaders to step forward, guided by principles and purpose.”
Once responsible for bringing in millions of dollars in donations and being credited with turning the deep-red state blue in 2020, and known via its face-to-face voter organizing strategies, Abrams called the organization’s issues “disappointing.”
The New Georgia Project’s closing, along with another Abrams-founded organization, Fair Fight, puts things in limbo ahead of state Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff seeking reelection in 2026 and the governor’s race, according to The Associated Press.
Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is running, hoping to be the state’s first Democratic leader since 1998.
The group’s vibrant purple and orange or lime green t-shirts were a familiar sight in urban Atlanta neighborhoods and rural towns. Stephanie Jackson Ali, the organization’s former policy director who was laid off in July, said the group was one of a kind.
“For progressive politics, I haven’t seen anything yet that is going to replicate the amount of outreach, door knocks, conversations that New Georgia Project was able to achieve,” Ali said.
However, other groups are working just as hard behind the scenes to ensure the Democratic Party continues to have a place in the Peach State.
Black Voters Matter co-founder Cliff Albright cautioned voters not to think that “no work can be done in the state” with the New Georgia Project’s absene, but can see why the narrative is being floated around. “What happened was people did not continue to invest in the work, post-2020, the way that they did during 2020,” Albright said. “And so we’ve started to see the results of that disinvestment.”
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