July 1st 2023.
When Black Tennessee Representative Justin Pearson and other Black lawmakers were expelled from the House floor for protesting for the Republican party to pass gun control measures and safety prevention methods, he found a unique opportunity to raise money for his causes. The Associated Press reported that with the spotlight placed on him by Republicans, Pearson was able to raise nearly $900,000 from 31,700 campaign donations.
Pearson was able to accept donations because he was kicked out of the legislative session. If he had not been removed, he and the other Democrats would have been banned from raising money. After his removal, Pearson and his political action committee had collected $814,000 in donations. He was reinstated a few days later.
Pearson expressed his gratitude for the donations, “To see so much support, particularly from these tens of thousands of small-dollar donations, is a testament to what I believe is a people-powered movement, which is that we all have something to contribute, and our little bits of contribution makes a lot.” He went on to explain that with the Democrats being in the super minority in the legislative chambers, the donation money could help them even the margins.
Middle Tennessee State University’s political science professor, Kent Syler, suggested that Pearson’s fundraiser could help gain a few seats on the floor for the party. Connecticut's Democratic senator, Chris Murphy, and his team were credited with raising more than $600,000 between the two expelled representatives in April. Pearson’s spokesperson also helped to raise money between April 6 and April 12 while he was out of office. According to his special elections campaign finance reports, the remaining money, just about $100,000, was raised before June 5.
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