Billionaire financier George Soros has donated more than one million dollars to help Democratic former Georgia State Rep. Stacey Abrams have a second chance at becoming the state’s governor.
News of Soros bankrolling Abrams’ second gubernatorial bid was first reported by Fox News.
Soros’ campaign financing vehicle Democracy PAC II donated $1 million to One Georgia Inc., Federal Election Commission records show.
One Georgia Inc. is a leadership committee formed to assist Abrams in her quest to become governor, according to court documents. However, neither One Georgia Inc. nor Abrams has publicly acknowledged its existence, Fox News reported.
The committee suspended its activities in April after a federal judge ruled that under state law Abrams has to win the Democratic nomination towards the end of May before the committee can resume its activities, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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Soros’ Federal Election Commission records show that the address listed as One Georgia Inc.’s address is the same as that of Abram’s campaign committee as posted on her campaign website.
The Democratic Governors Association-Georgia and the Abrams-linked Fair Fight PAC have also donated money to One Georgia Inc.
The DGA-Georgia gave One Georgia Inc. $1 million on March 11 — the day when Soros also donated to One Georgia Inc., Fox News reported. Three days later, the Fair Fight PAC wired $1.5 million to One Georgia Inc., Federal Election Commission records show.
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Once One Georgia Inc. resumes its activities, when and if Abrams formally wins the Democratic nomination, the organization will have around $3.5 million sitting in its accounts.
Besides the money sent to the now-suspended leadership committee, Soros and his relatives gave around $60,000 to Abrams’ campaign directly earlier this year, according to Fox News. There were three donations, totaling $19,700 each, given by Soros and two of his children, Alexander and Andrea.
Abrams announced her second campaign for governor in December of 2021, hoping to become Georgia’s first black governor. In January, Abrams received an endorsement from the Georgia AFL–CIO.
“There is no better champion for Georgia’s working families than Stacey Abrams, which is why we are extraordinarily proud to endorse her run for Governor,” Georgia AFL-CIO President Charlie Flemming said, according to a news release from Abrams’ campaign announcing the endorsement.
“Stacey has been and continues to be an ally to the labor movement across our state and will continue to do so as the next Governor of Georgia … She will work to fight our skyrocketing racial and economic inequalities, plagued further by the coronavirus pandemic, to ensure Georgians make not just a minimum — but a livable — wage,” Flemming said, according to the news release.
The Georgia Democrat pledged to redefine economic progress in the state by looking at not just how businesses fare in the state, but also how families live and thrive, not just survive. She also pledged to make access to childcare and education for all children a priority.
In her second gubernatorial bid, Abrams runs against incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
Kemp previously ran against her and won in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial elections, grabbing 50.2 percent of the votes. Abrams in 2018 responded to her defeat by refusing to acknowledge the results of the election and not conceding to Kemp, although she later admitted he was the rightful governor of the state.
She even went so far as to claim that the election she lost was “rigged.”
Soros helped back Abrams’ 2018 bid as well. According to Fox News, the billionaire gave $1.3 million to the Democratic Party of Georgia when Abrams unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2018.
