ATLANTA — After raising more than $100 million in an unsuccessful bid to become Georgia's governor, the Stacey Abrams campaign owes more than $1 million to vendors, according to reports.
Lauren Groh-Wargo, who served as Abrams' campaign manager during the 2018 and 2022 races, confirmed the debt to Axios. A former member of Abrams' staff confirmed details included in the website's report to 11Alive.
Groh-Wargo told Axios that negative press and polling made fundraising difficult in the final stretch. Groh-Wargo did not respond to 11Alive's messages or phone calls requesting an interview.
A former staffer told 11Alive that a "vast majority" of Abrams' roughly 180 campaign staff members were given their final checks on Nov. 15, one week after Republican Gov. Brian Kemp beat the Democrat by nearly 300,000 votes.
Kemp's staff members were paid for the entire month of November and given bonuses. Staffers for Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock are being paid through December, campaign members told Axios.
The former Abrams staffer told 11Alive that workers were well compensated. Health benefits ran through November, and the campaign's human resources department worked to find new jobs for staffers.
"If we had ended the campaign with enough money to pay staff through January, and we lost — I think there would be pieces coming out about why does [the campaign] have like $2 million in bank," the former staffer said. "I think the campaign was as transparent about things as it possibly could be."
The lack of cash forced the Abrams campaign to cut ad spending leading up to the election.
Media outlets reported that Abrams spent more than $800,000 in ads during the final week of October. Her campaign was spending between $2 and $3 million in early October.
In the last week of October, Kemp spent more than $2.6 million, Axios reports.
Groh-Wargo initially said it was part of the campaign's effort to invest in digital resources. However, she told Axios that the campaign was "trimming everything we could.”
Aside from Raphael Warnock's runoff victory earlier this month, Democrats lost all other statewide elections. Public and private polling from both parties never showed Abrams leading the gubernatorial race, the New York Times reports.
“We did not just lose. We got blown out,” Groh-Wargo told Axios. “It was the most sub-optimal situation to be in. And we will be dealing with that situation for some time.”
Emory University political science professor Andra Gillespie told 11Alive that Abrams' constant trailing in the polls and the presence of more competitive political races elsewhere contributed to the campaign's cash flow challenges. Fundraising hauls likely didn't match the Abrams campaign's projections.
"What this signals to me is that ... people are looking at this in the same way they look at business and investment opportunities," Gillespie said. "If you think somebody is going to lose — even if you are inclined to support that person and you like that person — you might actually choose to give your money to another candidate who is in a better position to be able to win."
A more complete picture of the Abrams campaign's finances will be available next month when disclosures are due.