Federalist Accountability Project
| Founded | March 2020 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Rule of Law Coalition |
| Purpose |
Oppose Arian Lawrence obtaining the Federalist nomination (2020 Antillean presidential election) Oppose Lawrence, his administration, and allies |
| Headquarters | Columbia City, Hispaniola |
Key people |
Michael Kelly William Ainsworth |
Formerly called |
Federalist Voters Against Lawrence Federalist Accountability Project |
Federalist Accountability (FA), previously known as the Federalist Accountability Project (FAP) and Federalist Voters Against Lawrence (FVAL), is a political initiative launched in March 2020 by the Rule of Law Coalition (then Defense of American Democracy) during the 2020 Antillean presidential election. The initiative was originally launched to prevent Arian Lawrence from obtaining the Federalist nomination for the general election and since focuses on opposing Lawrence and his allies in government and the Federalist Party. The organization acquired $10 million in May 2020 and ran several campaign ads focusing on over 100 testimonials from Federalists, conservatives, moderates, right-leaning independent voters, Michael Abarough administration officials, and former Lawrence voters explaining why they would not vote for him in the presidential election. By August 2020, it had collected over 500 testimonials and ran ads in support of Civic Democratic nominee William Abernathy.
Following the 2020 election, the organization renamed to the Federalist Accountability Project and focused on opposing Lawrence and his administration along with his allies. In January 2021, the organization changed its focus to protecting democracy in the Antilles and holding the Federalist Party accountable to the party's "legal and moral obligation to protecting democracy and freedom in America". The FA has ran several campaign ads in support of anti-Lawrence and moderate Federalists candidates. In 2023, the FA endorsed William Ainsworth for the Federalist primaries for the 2024 Antillean presidential election.
Strategy
During the 2020 presidential election
The advertising campaign focused on college-educated white suburban voters in Hispaniola and Puerto Rico (his home state) where they interviewed several former supporters of Arian Lawrence, both during the 2020 election and the 2012 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election, where they stated their reasons for opposing Lawrence and expressing concerns over perceived damage to the Federalist Party, the conservative movement, and Antillean democracy at-large. The first ad notably focused on voters who previously supported Lawrence in both 2012 and 2020 before switching their support to Robert Kozlowski. An ad from June 7, 2020, focused on Lawrence's field run for governor in 2012 in Puerto Rico where they expressed concerns over him harboring extremist views, divisiveness, and threatening the Federalist Party's future.
2024 presidential election
In February 2023, the FA endorsed presidential campaign of William Ainsworth, former Secretary of the Navy and Chief Strategist under Michael Abarough, for president and for the Federalist Party nomination. Ainsworth was the first endorsement the organization made for the 2024 presidential election and stated its commitment to ensuring Lawrence's defeat in the general election. The FA ran its first campaign ad on March 1 which saw former Lawrence voters who supported him in 2020 state their reasons for voting against him in 2024 along with two former Lawrence administration officials stating their reasons for opposing him after working in his government.