CJ Pearson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
CJ Pearson
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Pearson in 2021
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Coreco Ja'Quan Pearson
July 31, 2002 Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
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| Alma mater | University of Alabama (dropped out) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Movement | Populism Conservatism |
Coreco Ja'Quan Pearson (born July 31, 2002) is an American conservative activist and political commentator. He also works as a political advisor.
CJ Pearson was born in Augusta, Georgia, and grew up in Grovetown. He became interested in politics at a young age. When he was eight, he started writing online to support local conservative politicians. He became well-known on the internet in 2015. This happened after he posted a video on YouTube. In the video, he defended comments made by former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. He also shared his thoughts about then-President Barack Obama. This video quickly got attention from around the world. After this, he began working as a journalist. He has also campaigned for several politicians from the Republican Party.
Pearson was involved in efforts related to the 2020 United States presidential election. He describes himself as a populist who is against the traditional political system. He is the executive director of two groups: Young Georgians in Government and Teens for Trump. He is also active in Georgia's Republican politics. In January 2024, he tried to become a member of the Georgia House of Representatives but was not elected.
Contents
Early Life and School
Coreco Ja'Quan Pearson was born on July 31, 2002, in Augusta, Georgia. His parents were registered with the Democratic Party. In 2012, his family moved to Grovetown. There, Pearson went to Columbia Middle School. In seventh grade, he was chosen as student body president. However, he later stepped down from this role. He did this to start a political group called Young Georgians in Government. He also wanted to do other political activities.
In 2016, he began attending Evans High School. He lived with his grandparents, Willie and Robin Pearson. He finished high school in May 2020. Later that year, he started going to the University of Alabama. He studied Musical Theater and had a minor in Asian Studies. Pearson later left the university to work on other projects.
Career in Politics
Political Activism
Pearson first became interested in politics in second grade. His class held a pretend election, like the 2008 United States presidential election. Pearson says his class learned about the ideas of Barack Obama and John McCain. He voted for John McCain in the pretend election. He was inspired by McCain's time in the military. After this, he started following political news.
When he was eight, he began writing online. He supported different conservative politicians in Georgia. He also helped with political campaigns in 2014. He went door-to-door and made phone calls to ask people questions. After the 2014 elections, Pearson started a group. It was called Young Georgians in Government. Its goal was to get young people involved in politics. It also aimed to find solutions for government issues.
In February 2015, Pearson became known around the world. This happened after he started a YouTube channel. Two days later, he posted a video called "President Obama: Do you really love America?" In the video, he defended Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani had criticized then-President Barack Obama. Pearson also shared his own criticisms of Obama. He said, "If you really did love America, you would call (Islamic State) what it really is: an assault on Christianity, an assault on America and downright hate for the American values that our country holds—freedom of speech, freedom of religion and every single thing that our country stands for." This video helped him start his career in politics and journalism.
In March 2015, Pearson began promoting his own idea for a change to the Georgia Constitution. He wanted to lower the age for holding public office in Georgia. He suggested age 18 for the House and age 21 for the Senate. He found seven other lawmakers to support his idea.
During the 2016 United States presidential election, Pearson supported several Republican candidates. In April 2015, he campaigned for Senator Rand Paul. Pearson said Paul was good at connecting with young people. Later that year, in September 2015, Pearson left Paul's campaign. He then joined Senator Ted Cruz's campaign. Cruz named Pearson as the national chairman of "Teens for Ted." Cruz said young people want someone who acts on their words. After two months, Pearson left Cruz's campaign. He then said he no longer agreed with conservatism. Pearson then supported Bernie Sanders. When Sanders stopped running, Pearson joined Donald Trump's campaign. He became the national chairman of Teens for Trump.
In June 2020, Pearson helped raise money. He collected $160,000 for businesses owned by Black people. These businesses were damaged during protests in Metro Atlanta. The protests happened after the murder of George Floyd.
In July 2020, Pearson started his own non-profit group. It was called the Free Thinker Project. He named himself the Founder and President. He also managed the campaign for Vernon Jones in the 2022 Georgia gubernatorial election.
2020 Election Role
In the 2020 United States presidential election, Pearson was chosen by the Republican Party. He was nominated to be an elector for Georgia. Electors are people who formally cast votes for president. It was unclear if he would have served if Donald Trump had won. Some reports said he did not serve because he was living in Alabama for college. Other reports listed him as an "alternate elector" for Trump. Federal investigators looked into Georgia Republicans who were alternate electors. They contacted Pearson, and he said he would help them.
After Joe Biden won the 2020 election, Pearson spoke about claims of problems with the election. In late November, Pearson filed a lawsuit. He was represented by lawyer Sidney Powell. The lawsuit, called Pearson v. Kemp, was filed in a federal court in Atlanta. It tried to challenge Joe Biden's win in Georgia. In December 2020, the court decided to dismiss the lawsuit.
Political Campaign
In January 2024, Pearson announced he would run for office. He wanted to be elected to the Georgia House of Representatives for the 125th district. This was a special election to finish the term of Barry Fleming. A voter questioned if Pearson lived in the district. However, an administrative judge dismissed this challenge. The election was held on February 13. Pearson came in second place after Gary Richardson. Since neither candidate got most of the votes, they had another election. This was a runoff election on March 12. Pearson was defeated by Richardson. Both candidates were set to run again in the May Republican primary for a full two-year term. However, Pearson later decided to withdraw from that race.
Writings
Pearson has written articles for several news outlets. His columns have appeared in TIME, The Huffington Post, MTV News, and The Daily Beast.
Political Views
Over time, Pearson's political views have changed. He also changed which candidates he supported in the 2016 United States presidential election. When he first started as a political commentator in 2015, he described himself as conservative. The media also described him this way.
In November 2015, Pearson changed his political views. He said he "renounced conservatism." He also questioned the ideas of the Republican Party. He stated that his views would not be controlled by one political group. In December 2015, Pearson supported Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Sanders is an independent who was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.
In August 2016, Pearson wrote an article for Time magazine. In it, he supported Donald Trump. He said his political views had changed a lot since 2015. He explained that he supported Sanders and then Trump because he saw similarities in their campaign ideas. Pearson describes himself as an anti-establishment populist. This means he is against the traditional political system and supports the common person. He is also a Christian. As of 2018, his Twitter page said he was "fighting for a bold conservative future." In 2020, Pearson became a member of the Republican Party. He registered to vote on his eighteenth birthday.
See also
- Black conservatism in the United States
- Jonathan Krohn – another young person known as a conservative activist
