C.J. Pearson spoke at a town hall about concerns over books in county libraries. Staff photo by Stephanie Hill

Date: June 19, 2024- By Scott Hudson – The Augusta Press

As President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump prepare for a November showdown at the polls, conservative social media influencer-turned-politician C.J. Pearson is rising in the ranks of the Republican party.

Pearson, 21, has been promoted to coalition leader in Black Americans for Trump, an organization that is a part of the Trump campaign and has been tapped by the Republican National Committee to co-chair the Youth Advisory Board.

According to Pearson, a native of Grovetown, his campaign efforts will mainly be focused in Georgia.

The main goal, Pearson says, is to connect with Black voters and show them how their values fit with the modern Republican party. According to Pearson, his job is not to preach to the choir, but to grow the congregation.

“If you look at the roots of the Black community, what are they? They are people of faith, evangelical, they are fiscal conservatives and they have conservative values,” Pearson said.

Pearson says that he has determined that most Blacks vote for the Democrat party simply because the generations before them did; and he says liberal politicians have pandered to Blacks without ever following through on promises, making them the most “used and abused demographic out there.”

When it comes to reaching out to younger generations, Pearson says he can be the voice of common sense when it comes to social issues.

“Young people have been almost brainwashed into believing that someone can just change their biological sex and they are truly waking up to understand that letting a biological male compete with females is not only unfair, it doesn’t make sense,” Pearson said.

Pearson became a YouTube star when he was barely a teenager, his videos have received millions of views and he has 208,000 followers on Instagram alone.

The internet influencer decided to take the plunge into state politics earlier this year when he campaigned for the district 125 Georgia House seat. While he lost the race to Gary Richardson, Pearson says that the race was a tremendous learning opportunity.

“You really have to work hard, everyday and I plan to put in the same amount of effort in helping get Donald Trump elected in November,” Pearson said.

Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com

Column: C.J. Pearson moving on from the State House is the right decision  

Date: March 21, 2024 – By Joe Edge – The Augusta Press

C.J. Pearson garnered several endorsements from well known individuals in his run for State House. The problem is that none of them were local, while most local officials endorsed Gary Richardson. Endorsements matter, but what matters even more is having the right ones.

Everyone agrees that C.J. has a bright future in politics; so did Wright McLeod, Lee Muns, Lee Benedict and Greg Grzybowski.

What do those last four men have in common? They all lost twice, and their prospects of winning in the future are lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon rut. 

The conventional rule of thumb is that if you lose twice, then you are done. A second loss by C.J. could hamper his ability to win a race down the road, which is why he was wise to withdraw. 

---

---

The race was odd to start. The candidates had to qualify for the remainder of Barry Fleming’s term and for the May 21 race. Richardson and Pearson had to qualify for both races, assuming they would win the first. Backing out now shows that C.J. respects the will of the voters, and he is going to move toward unification. Pearson will win points with voters by bowing out gracefully.

There will be other offices that Pearson can campaign for and win. I believe that if Congressman Rick Allen retires, Pearson could jump in and run an aggressive campaign and be competitive for that seat. That race is likely to garner multiple challengers, but Pearson’s knowledge on national issues would give him an advantage. Pearson also has a national platform that enables him to raise a lot of money and get his message out easily. 

At least Pearson wouldn’t have to fight a residency battle in a congressional race. He would be tough to beat if he starts laying the groundwork now to win that congressional seat.