Tennessee state lawmaker Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, stands with U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond at Ettrick Deli on Sep. 5, 2024. Charlotte Rene Woods Virginia Mercury
Tennessee state lawmaker Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, on Thursday joined U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, in Ettrick to engage young Democratic voters ahead of the presidential and congressional elections this fall.
A heartbreaking spectacle in my native Tennessee made me appreciate Virginia all the more
His visit to support Virginia Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris came as Axios reported that former President Donald Trump’s campaign is scaling back in Virginia and other states he’d been focused on earlier this summer. Recent polling shows Harris with a slight lead over Trump.
On Thursday afternoon at Ettrick Deli near Virginia State University, McClellan hosted a meet and greet with Pearson to talk about key issues, two months before the general election that will determine the outcome of McClellan’s race against Republican challenger Bill Moher to represent Virginia’s 4th Congressional District. Though the district is reliably Democratic, McClellan said she hopes to gain re-election with higher margins than she did when she first won the seat by a special election in 2023. With that win, McClellan became the state’s first Black congresswoman.
She and Pearson said that driving up interest about Harris’ campaign in Virginia and elsewhere can benefit Democrats up and down the ballot.
McClellan also called Pearson, 29, a “rising star” in her party who she believes may go on to serve in congress someday.
Tennessee state lawmaker Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, at a rally for presidential hopeful Kamala Harris in Ettrick organized by prominent Virginia Democrats, Sept. 5, 2024. (Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)
He made national headlines last spring as one of two state lawmakers to be expelled from the state legislature for participating in a protest from the House floor concerning gun violence. Dubbed the “Tennessee Three” by supporters, he and colleagues Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson were reprimanded for speaking without formally being recognized on the House floor. Johnson, a white woman, was spared from the expulsion while her Black male counterparts were temporarily kicked out of the legislature. Pearson and Jones went on to win reelection to their seats.
Pearson is still hopeful for more gun violence prevention policy to prevail in state legislatures and said that he thinks a federal assault-style weapon ban would be a big step in gun violence prevention. This year, Virginia’s own proposed version of an assault firearm ban cleared the Democratic-controlled legislature before being vetoed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
While speaking with Virginia State University students on the deli’s patio, Pearson noted young voters’ role in helping to shape their own future.
“Folks from the age 18 to 36 are the largest voting bloc in the country,” he said.
In Virginia, of the over 36,000 new voter registrations last month, over 22,000 of the people are under the age of 35, according to Department of Elections data. Research also shows that Democrats have an edge in younger voter demographics while Republicans tend to have an edge with older voters.
“You’ve already got the first Black woman congressperson from the state of Virginia (and the) first Black woman vice president of the United States of America,” Pearson said, before suggesting that young Democrats “are going to be the deciders.”
While environmental and social issues have been prominent for young voters, Pearson noted that economics and affordable housing are concerns he’s hearing from younger constituents, as well.
“We’re talking about a fight for our future,” he said. “We’re talking about the climate. We’re talking about having enough money to be able to find a home and start a family.”
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