Name James Richardson | Role 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. As of July 2015, he serves as managing director of Dentons, a global law practice, in the firm's public policy and regulatory affairs group.
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Career
In the 2008 presidential election, Richardson served as Online Communications Manager 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 Governor Haley Barbour, who was openly weighing a presidential bid. After weathering criticism for his perceived proximity to racist groups, Barbour eventually announced in mid-2011 he would forgo a campaign for the White House. Richardson was the first of Barbour's advisors to join another campaign, accepting a position as Director of Online Communications for Jon Huntsman's presidential campaign. 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. According to media reports, some of his clients have included the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Indiana Senator Dan Coats
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, GQ, US News & World Report, National Review, The Washington Post, The Guardian,' The Advocate Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, Politico, Roll Call, the Washington Times, Creative Loafing, Fox News, CNN, CBS News, and The Huffington Post. He edits the political news blog Georgia Tipsheet, which the Washington Post named one of the "best state-based blogs" in the country in 2013.
Personal life
In September 2014, Richardson authored an Op-Ed in The Washington Post in which he publicly disclosed he is gay. 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, The Huffington Post, The Daily Mail, The Advocate, MTV, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, among others.
Richardson lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his partner of five years. He attended the University of Georgia.