Twice-failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Democrat Stacey Abrams was “roasted” by ex-staffers and the media over cutting the pay to her campaign team right after she lost her candidacy for governor, Fox News reported. One staffer described Abrams’ penury as ‘Messed up!’
It’s not as if Stacey Abrams didn’t have the money. As reported, Abrams raised more than $100 million in what became her second failed attempt to become governor of Georgia. Previous news articles disclosed that Abrams paid millions of dollars to a friend’s law firm for representing her campaign in various matters. As reported, the article cited above stated that it “seems to have left more than a few disgruntled staffers in her wake.”
Multiple staffers told Axios that they stopped receiving pay one week after Abrams lost to Gov. Brian Kemp, R. Some staffers alleged to the outlet that they were struggling to even make rent on time. “People have told me they have no idea how they’re going to pay their rent in January,” one former staffer told Axios. In what can only be described as a stunning understatement, a staffer stated: “It was more than unfortunate. It was messed up.”
Axios reported that “money became so tight that most of the 180 full-time staffers were given an abrupt paycheck cutoff date — just a week after the November election.”
It seemed Abrams’ campaign was drenched in cash. As reported, “Another former Abrams staffer told Axios that they were banking on some portion of the $100 million campaign treasury being able to pay their salaries, saying, ‘I figured, $100 million? They should be able to pay me until December.’”
The assertion was made that even that “eyepopping fundraising amount” wasn’t enough to keep the Abrams campaign from going into debt. Campaign manager Lauren Groh-Wargo confirmed to Axios that it still owes more than $1 million to vendors. Groh-Wargo blamed “negative press and negative polling” for causing fundraising to dry up in the final months of the campaign. Groh-Wargo didn’t offer to account for the expenditure of that “eyepopping” one hundred million dollars.
Groh-Wargo rationalized: “We did not just lose, we got blown out. It was the most sub-optimal situation to be in. And we will be dealing with that situation for some time.” Groh-Wargo did not volunteer whether she got paid.
Groh-Wargo said the campaign provided insurance benefits through November and worked to place affected staffers in other jobs after the race. Although the rematch of their 2018 campaign received national attention and favorable press for Abrams, Kemp led Abrams in polling throughout the race and cruised to victory. Axios reporter Lachlan Markay summed up Abrams campaign’s money troubles on Twitter: “Stacey Abrams’ lavishly funded campaign ended in serious debt and quickly cut off paychecks to staffers.” RealClearPolitics president Tom Bevan tweeted, with a hint of sarcasm, “She raised more than $100 million and still managed to end up in debt – after losing by 7.5 points!”
Abrams, however, seems to be recovering quite nicely from her devastating loss and indebtedness. Abrams, it is alleged, has not tweeted from her official account in almost a week. In her tweeting, Abrams did share on Dec. 14 that she is “teaming up to produce a music documentary for Discovery+” with pop star Selena Gomez.