Though he has yet to reach any deadlines for federal filings following his recent entry to the 2026 Democratic primary contest in Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, a review of the Tennessee campaign filings submitted by State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) appears to reveal that the Democrat’s two top-paid campaign employees are his wife and aunt.
A registry website for Pearson’s wedding reveals that he knew his bride, Oceana Gilliam, for nine years prior to their July 2025 wedding. After meeting at Princeton University in 2016, Pearson and Gilliam eventually became engaged in 2023.
Over the course of 2024, the year after announcing their engagement that Pearson spent campaigning for reelection to the Tennessee General Assembly, his campaign paid Gilliam $20,000 for campaign management.
Payments to his then-fiancée occurred throughout the year, beginning on March 5, when the campaign paid Gilliam $2,000 for campaign management during the period reflected in the campaign’s first-quarter filing.
She was then paid $7,500 during the period, reflected in the second-quarter filing as $5,000 in the third-quarter filing and $7,500 in the final quarterly filing of 2024.
As reported, Gilliam continued to be paid $2,500 per month by the campaign, totaling $15,000 for the first half of the year.
Gilliam was not the top-paid person on Pearson’s campaign during the 2024 cycle, however. That honor went to his Felecia Boyd, who The Commercial Appeal identified as “Pearson’s aunt and campaign manager” in 2023.
Unlike Gilliam, the 2024 payments from Pearson’s campaign to Boyd only began in the second quarter, when she was paid a total of $6,000 for campaign management.
Boyd next received payments of $6,000 during the second quarter, $8,000 during the third quarter, and $7,500 during the final quarterly reporting period. She received a total of $21,500, making her the highest-paid individual on the campaign by $1,500.
Like with Gilliam, the Pearson campaign has continued paying Boyd into the first six months of 2025. As of June, she was paid $1,500 per month, for a total of $7,500 so far this year.
Pearson is currently challenging U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) for the party’s nomination to represent Memphis and the surrounding area in the U.S. House next year.
The district is currently rated as solidly Democratic by the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election analyzer. However, analysts have suggested it could swing Republican if Tennessee lawmakers redraw the district in response to a forthcoming decision on the Voting Rights Act by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Justin Pearson” by Justin Pearson. Background Photo “Justin Pearson Speaking” by Justin Pearson.
Of course they are, that’s what they do best.
Corruption at its best. This guy should never been elected to politics since he’s nothing more than activist and has no brains whatsoever.
Nothing like greasing the hands of your fellow Democrat family members. Although I would assume this is not uncommon for many candidates regardless of political party affiliation.
Do you think we could bribe this loudmouth to move to another state?