James Richardson (political consultant)
James Richardson (born October 30, 1984) is a conservative American political strategist and columnist best known as a spokesman and adviser to the Republican National Committee and former Governors Jon Huntsman and Haley Barbour. In a September 2014 opinion editorial published in the Washington Post, Richardson openly disclosed that he is gay.[1]
Career
In the 2008 presidential election, Richardson served as online communications manager[2] for the Republican National Committee. He briefly served as communications director for the College Republican National Committee before accepting a position with the conservative consultancy Hynes Communications, which specializes in conservative blogger outreach. Richardson took leave from the firm in 2011 to advise then-Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour,[3] who was openly weighing a presidential bid. After weathering criticism for his perceived proximity to racist groups,[4] Barbour ultimately announced in mid-2011 he would forgo a campaign for the White House.[5] Richardson was the first of Barbour's advisors to join another campaign,[6] accepting a position as director of online communications for Jon Huntsman's presidential campaign.[7] After Huntsman's resignation from the race following his third-place finish in New Hampshire, Richardson returned to Hynes Communications as vice president of public relations.[8] According to media reports, some of his clients have included the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Illinois Sen. Dan Coats[9]
Richardson has written extensively on political and cultural issues and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. His columns have appeared in The Atlantic[10], GQ[11], US News & World Report[12], National Review[13], The Washington Post,[14] The Guardian[15][16][17][18][19],' The Advocate Magazine,[20] The Christian Science Monitor,[21] USA Today[22][23], Politico[24][25][26], Roll Call[27], the Washington Times[28], Creative Loafing[29], Fox News,[30][31][32][33] CNN,[34] CBS News,[35] and The Huffington Post.[36] He edits the political news blog Georgia Tipsheet,[37] which the Washington Post named one of the "best state-based blogs[38]" in the country in 2013.
Personal life
In Sept. 2014, Richardson authored an op-ed in the Washington Post in which he publicly disclosed he is gay.[39] In the column, Richardson said he advocated for equal rights for LGBT persons throughout his career "even as I never openly disclosed my personal stake" in the debate.
Richardson's coming out was covered by CNN,[40] The Huffington Post,[41] The Daily Mail[42], The Advocate[43], MTV,[44] and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution[45][46], among others.
Richardson lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his partner of 5 years.[47] He attended the University of Georgia.
Selected writings
- "A good Republican for gay marriage," The New York Daily News, Feb. 28, 2015, James Richardson
- "The Real Reason Rob Portman Won’t Run for President," The Advocate Magazine, Dec. 4, 2014, James Richardson
- "How House Dems Lost Their Last Southern White Guy," The Daily Beast, Nov. 9, 2014, James Richardson
- "I'm A Senior GOP Spokesman, And I'm Gay. Let Me Get Married." The Washington Post, Sept. 4, 2014, James Richardson
- "Teacher Tenure Refugees Flee Public Schools," USA Today, July 29, 2014, James Richardson
- "One Year After DOMA Fell, and Still No Revolution," US News & World Report, June 26, 2014, James Richardson
- "An Honesty Gap in the Pay Gap Debate," Roll Call, April 23, 2014, James Richardson
- "Sin City A Virtuous Venue for GOP Convention," USA Today, March 21, 2014, James Richardson
- "Stop Arizona-Style Anti-Gay Bill In Georgia," CNN, Feb. 27, 2014, James Richardson
- "You're Not Fired, Ever," National Review, Dec. 30, 2013, James Richardson
- "Congress Must Lead By Dealing With The Deficit," POLITICO, Nov. 5, 2014, James Richardson
- "Why Supreme Court's Gay Marriage Ruling Won't Be Like Roe," Christian Science Monitor, June 10, 2013, James Richardson
- "Gun Control Misfire To Cost Lives In Georgia," Fox News, Feb. 1, 2013, James Richardson
- "How Mitt Romney's Historic Debate Confounded Political Science Convention," The Guardian, Oct. 10, 2012, James Richardson
- "Kasim's Gay Problem," Creative Loafing, June 25, 2012, James Richardson
- "Not Waiting Their Turn," FOX News, June 12, 2012, James Richardson
- "Gingrich Refuses To Quit," GQ, March 15, 2012, James Richardson
- "American Has Moved On From Romney's Mormonism," The Guardian, March 8, 2012, James Richardson
- "Northern Snobbery Fuels Paula Deen Fingerpointing," FOX News, Jan. 21, 2012, James Richardson
- "What Was The Huntsman Campaign's Problem?", The Atlantic, Jan. 17, 2012, James Richardson
- "The Politics Of Appointment," POLTICO, April 29, 2011, James Richardson
- "Haley Barbour, The GOP's Best Candidate Not To Run," The Guardian, April 26, 2011, James Richardson
- "Food Or Facebook For America's Homeless?," The Huffington Post, Dec. 12, 2010, James Richardson
- "What Democrats Wish For," FOX News, Oct. 28, 2010, James Richardson
- "Dems Play Politics With 9/11 Workers," POLITICO, Aug. 1, 2010, James Richardson
References
- ↑ Richardson, James (4 September 2014). "I’m a senior GOP spokesman, and I’m gay. Let me get married.". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Rothman, Noah (26 April 2011). "Barbour's exit from 2012 field frees up operatives". Campaigns & Elections. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Smith, Ben (9 March 2011). "Barbour adds online communications aide". Politico. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Shear, Michael (20 December 2010). "Discussing Civil Rights Era, a Governor Is Criticized". New York Times. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ "Barbour not running for prez". CNN. 25 April 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
|first1=
missing|last1=
in Authors list (help) - ↑ Coulter, Matt (11 May 2011). "Huntsman Hires One of 'Haley’s Seven'". Race42016. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Barr, Andy (10 May 2011). "Jon Huntsman hires former Haley Barbour aide". Politico. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Lewis, Matt (21 March 2012). "Ex-Huntsman and Barbour aide offers Mitt Romney some advice". Daily Caller. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Rothman, Noah (26 April 2011). "Barbour's exit from 2012 field frees up operatives". Campaigns & Elections. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (17 January 2012). "What Was the Huntsman Campaign's Problem?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (15 March 2012). "A Former Huntsman Staffer on Gingrich's Refusal to Ever, Ever Drop Out". GQ. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (26 June 2014). "One Year After DOMA Fell, and Still No Revolution". US News & World Report. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (30 December 2013). "You're not fired, ever". National Review. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (4 September 2014). "I’m a senior GOP spokesman, and I’m gay. Let me get married.". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (12 April 2013). "Big test for GOP: will party leaders do right thing on gay marriage?". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (10 October 2012). "How Mitt Romney's historic debate confounded political science convention". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (8 March 2012). "America has moved on from Romney's Mormonism". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (26 April 2011). "Haley Barbour, the GOP's best candidate not to run". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (3 January 2011). "US cable leaks' collateral damage in Zimbabwe". The Guardian.
- ↑ Richardson, James (4 December 2014). "The Real Reason Rob Portman Won’t Run for President". The Advocate Magazine. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (10 June 2013). "Why Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling won't be like Roe v. Wade". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (29 July 2014). "Teacher tenure refugees flee public school". USA Today. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (21 March 2014). "Sin city a virtuous venue for GOP convention". USA Today. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (5 November 2013). "Congress must lead by dealing with the deficit". Politico. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (29 April 2011). "David Petraeus: Politics of appointments". Politico. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (4 April 2009). "Dems play politics with 9/11 workers". Politico. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (23 April 2014). "An honesty gap in the pay gap debate". Roll Call. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (16 September 2010). "Who are you calling extreme?". Washington Times. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (25 June 2012). "Kasim's gay problem". Creative Loafing. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (1 February 2013). "Gun control misfire in Georgia to cost lives". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (12 June 2012). "Two inspiring 20-something candidates to watch". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (21 January 2012). "God, guns and grease! Northern snobbery fuels the Paula Deen fingerpointing". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (28 October 2010). "What Democrats wish for". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (27 February 2014). "Stop Arizona-style anti-gay bill in Georgia". CNN. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (26 January 2010). "An Albatross or Aid for the Democrats?". CBS News. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (17 December 2010). "Food or Facebook for America's homeless?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ "Georgia Tipsheet".
- ↑ Cilliza, Chris (5 March 2013). "The Fix’s best state-based political blogs list is here!". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (4 September 2014). "I’m a senior GOP spokesman, and I’m gay. Let me get married.". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Caldwell, Leigh Ann (4 September 2014). "Former GOP spokesman comes out, pushes for same-sex marriage". CNN. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Lavender, Paige (4 September 2014). "James Richardson Comes Out: 'I'm A Senior GOP Spokesman, And I'm Gay.'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Pleasance, Chris (5 September 2014). "Former Republican party spokesman comes out as gay and says he wants to legalize same-sex marriage". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Brydum, Sunnivie (7 September 2014). "Former GOP Spokesman: 'I'm Gay. Let Me Get Married'". The Advocate. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ White, Caitlin (4 September 2014). "GOP Spokesman Comes Out In Emotional Letter: ‘Let Me Get Married’". MTV. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Galloway, Jim (4 September 2014). "Living in Spin City". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Bookman, Jay (4 September 2014). "Two viewpoints on gay marriage, vividly opposed". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Richardson, James (4 September 2014). "I’m a senior GOP spokesman, and I’m gay. Let me get married.". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 September 2014.