Fireside Campaigns is a left-of-center political communications firm that works with numerous Democratic Party candidates and left-of-center organizations. The company provides digital fundraising, public relations, digital advertising, crisis communications, graphic design, and other services.

The company has represented some controversial clients, including Black Lives Matter. ¹ In 2022, the company sent an email on behalf of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation that solicited donations to benefit a political entity, which critics called a “clear violation” of rules governing activities of charitable organizations. ²

Overview

Fireside Campaigns is a left-of-center political communications firm that works with numerous Democratic Party candidates and left-of-center advocacy and public opinion organizations. The company provides numerous campaign and advocacy services for its clients including digital fundraising support, public relations, digital advertising, crisis communications, graphic design, and other services. ³

The company describes itself as a “majority queer-owned progressive digital, data, and communications consulting firm.” ⁴

Among the firm’s clients are Black Lives Matter, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, Common Defense, the Four Freedoms Fund, the Indivisible Project, Mi Familia Vota, Millennial Action Project, and United We Dream. In addition, the company works for numerous Democratic Party-aligned candidates on the federal, state, and local level. ⁵

In December 2019, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang hired Julia Rosen, who was then a partner with the company, to run his digital campaign. Rosen also became a senior advisor to Yang. ⁶

In April 2021, the company’s employees voted to unionize with the Campaign Workers Guild. It was part of a trend among left-of-center political organizations that saw their workers unionize. ⁷

Work for Black Lives Matter

One of the company’s best-known clients is Black Lives Matter, which is run by self-described “trained Marxists” and promotes a radical agenda that includes defunding police and abolishing prisons. ⁸

In March 2022, it was reported that Fireside Campaigns had sent a fundraising email on behalf of BLM’s charitable arm, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. The fundraising email however urged readers to donate to BLM’s political group, the Black Lives Matter PAC. IRS tax rules forbid charitable groups from soliciting donations on behalf of a political entity. ⁹

In response to criticism of the email, Fireside Campaigns CEO Brad Bauman told the Washington Examiner: “During a recent email send, Fireside Campaigns inadvertently included a fundraising link to a non-fundraising email. We take full responsibility for this error.” ¹⁰

In addition, Fireside Campaigns’ work with BLM has caused its more moderate Democratic candidate clients to become targets of political criticism. ¹¹

Leadership

Brad Bauman is the company’s chief executive officer. Before going into political consulting, he was the former executive director of them left-wing Congressional Progressive Caucus. ¹²

1. Anderson, Collin. “‘Moderate’ Conor Lamb Paid BLM-Linked Firm Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars.” Washington Free Beacon. March 29, 2022. https://freebeacon.com/elections/moderate-conor-lamb-paid-blm-linked-firm-hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars/.
2. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM’s Charity Status at Risk over Solicitation of Funds to Elect Democrats, Watchdog Says.” Washington Examiner. Washington Examiner, March 25, 2022. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/blms-charity-status-at-risk-over-solicitation-of-funds-to-elect-democrats-watchdog-says.
3. “How We Can Help You.”  Fireside Campaigns. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://firesidecampaigns.com/services/.
4. Anderson, Collin. “‘Moderate’ Conor Lamb Paid BLM-Linked Firm Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars.” Washington Free Beacon. March 29, 2022. https://freebeacon.com/elections/moderate-conor-lamb-paid-blm-linked-firm-hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars/.
5. “Clients.”  Fireside Campaigns. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://firesidecampaigns.com/clients/.
6. Axelrod, Tal. “Yang Expands Campaign With Senior Hires For Digital Operations.” The Hill. Dec. 6, 2019. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/473464-yang-expands-campaign-with-senior-hires-for-digital-operations/.
7. Epstein, Kayla. “Democratic Political Staffers Are Unionizing, And That Could Reshape Campaign Operations In 2022 And Beyond.” Business Insider. Dec. 22, 2021. https://www.businessinsider.com/democratic-political-campaign-staff-unionizing-2022-midterms-elections-dnc-2021-12.
8. Anderson, Collin. “‘Moderate’ Conor Lamb Paid BLM-Linked Firm Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars.” Washington Free Beacon. March 29, 2022. https://freebeacon.com/elections/moderate-conor-lamb-paid-blm-linked-firm-hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars/.
9. Anderson, Collin. “‘Moderate’ Conor Lamb Paid BLM-Linked Firm Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars.” Washington Free Beacon. March 29, 2022. https://freebeacon.com/elections/moderate-conor-lamb-paid-blm-linked-firm-hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars/.
10. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM’s Charity Status at Risk over Solicitation of Funds to Elect Democrats, Watchdog Says.” Washington Examiner. Washington Examiner, March 25, 2022. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/blms-charity-status-at-risk-over-solicitation-of-funds-to-elect-democrats-watchdog-says.
11. Anderson, Collin. “‘Moderate’ Conor Lamb Paid BLM-Linked Firm Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars.” Washington Free Beacon. March 29, 2022. https://freebeacon.com/elections/moderate-conor-lamb-paid-blm-linked-firm-hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars/.
12. “Meet The Team.”  Fireside Campaigns. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://firesidecampaigns.com/team/.