Democratic Digital Firm Authentic to Shutter by Year’s End
Authentic, the digital and paid media powerhouse behind some of the biggest Democratic campaigns in recent election cycles, will shut down operations by the end of the year, the firm’s leaders said.
In a LinkedIn post on Friday, Authentic founder Mike Nellis, CEO Jonathan Barnes and Chief Growth Officer Gabrielle Rizza insisted that the decision wasn’t “driven by financial circumstances,” but was rather born out of a desire to “pursue different personal and professional directions and bring this chapter to a close.”
“We are enormously proud of what we built together,” they wrote. “Over some of the most challenging years in this country’s history, Authentic has had the privilege of working alongside campaigns, organizations, candidates, and causes fighting to make our country and our communities better. We have helped raise significant resources, persuade and mobilize voters, and support work we deeply believe in.”
Earlier in the day, Authentic’s leadership broke the news to the firm’s clients and staff.
The announcement came less than three weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, when Democrats will have a chance to reclaim their House and Senate majorities for the last two years of President Donald Trump’s final term in the White House.
Authentic launched in 2018 ahead of that year’s midterms, which eventually saw Democrats capture the House majority in a wave election. Since then, the firm has emerged as one of the biggest players in Democratic digital campaigning, taking on clients like former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC.
The firm also made waves in the political consulting world in 2020 when it became one of the first firms in the space to recognize a unionization effort by its staffers. In concert with the union, Authentic announced in 2023 that it would move to a four-day workweek in a bid to increase employee retention and productivity in an industry known for burnout among its workforce.
Nellis, Authentic’s founder and chief strategy officer, has waded into more general political strategy and commentary in recent years, appearing as a frequent guest on news programs and launching a Substack – “Endless Urgency” – last year that provides commentary on political developments and the broader Democratic ecosystem.
Barnes, an alum of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) 2016 presidential campaign, took the reins of Authentic last year when he was named CEO. In that role, he took over a push to integrate artificial intelligence tools into the firm’s work and currently authors a Substack of his own on the use of AI in politics.
Authentic’s coming closure also means that its staff will be without work in just over a couple months. They’ll be hitting the job market right as potential 2028 presidential hopefuls are gearing up for their campaigns.
Updated on Oct. 19, 2026 at 11:33 a.m. ET.
