Politics
Lincoln Project Veterans Launch Black Pearl Strategies
The new Florida-based national firm—including Pensacola native Ryan Wiggins—opens its first fight, backing David Jolly for Governor.
Ryan Wiggins and Rick Wilson have launched Black Pearl Strategies, a national political consulting and media firm headquartered in Tallahassee, bringing together a founding team of Lincoln Project veterans to compete in campaigns and causes across the country.
- The Team: Wiggins, a Pensacola native, former Inweekly intern and veteran Florida strategist, served as The Lincoln Project’s Chief of Staff for five years; Ben Howe, bestselling author and award-winning admaker; and Joseph Wartnerchaney, the award-winning filmmaker behind the Lincoln Project’s signature visual style.
Wilson, Howe, and Wartnerchaney created some of The Lincoln Project’s most-watched ads—work that helped defeat Donald Trump in 2020. Wilson co-founded The Lincoln Project and continues there as a board member and Creative Director. Black Pearl Strategies is an independent entity and is not affiliated with The Lincoln Project.
“We reinvented political advertising in 2020, and have led the fight against Trump and Trumpism ever since. Black Pearl Strategies takes that same creative fire and puts it to work for clients and causes across the country.”
— Rick Wilson
The firm offers creative production, media strategy, paid and digital advertising, messaging, and strategic communications for campaigns, advocacy groups, corporations, and independent expenditure efforts at every level.
First Fight: Florida’s Race for Governor
Among its first engagements, Black Pearl Strategies will run independent expenditure efforts supporting David Jolly’s campaign for Florida Governor—mounting an aggressive television, digital, and grassroots effort behind his candidacy.
“David Jolly is the real deal. A serious, proven leader who puts Florida families ahead of political games. By November, every voter in this state is going to know his story, and his opponents are going to answer for their records. Every. Single. Day.”
— Ryan Wiggins
The Founding Team
- Rick Wilson — Co-founder of The Lincoln Project, where he served as Creative Director. One of the most prominent anti-Trump Republican strategists in the country.
- Ryan Wiggins — A Pensacola native with more than two decades of experience in Florida government, communications, and crisis management. As Lincoln Project Chief of Staff, she helped steer one of the highest-profile independent expenditure operations in modern political history.
- Ben Howe — National bestselling author of The Immoral Majority and the editorial and storytelling force behind some of the most talked-about political advertising of the past decade.
- Joseph Wartnerchaney — Award-winning director whose cinematic sensibility defined the Lincoln Project’s visual identity.
