CHICAGO – Cole and Preston Peirce, 21-year-old twins from Hazelwood, defied the odds by being elected delegates from a pool of hundreds of Missouri Democrats. But what they’ve overcome to get here is even more impressive.
“They both have autism. Preston deals with ADHD, anxiety; that’s just the mental aspect. From a physical standpoint, they were diagnosed at 13 with an autoimmune disease non-specified. So, they’re always in pain; they get sick a lot,” Cole and Preston’s father, Jeremy Peirce, said.
Rather than focusing on their problems, Cole and Preston preoccupied themselves with politics.
“As long as I can remember—at least the first grade,” Cole said.
Their political interests led to their involvement. They’ve helped Missouri Democratic candidates with their campaigns and became student senators at St. Charles Community College.
“They don’t even think it’s that big of a deal, but when they were telling me about it, ‘Hey, we’re rewriting the constitution,’ I was blown away. How do you even do that?” Jeremy said.
Their political aspirations went to the next level in June. The twins campaigned to become delegates at the Missouri State Democratic Convention in Columbia.
“If I get to go to the DNC, I will represent people with disabilities—people with mental disabilities that can’t be seen as well as all of you. Thank you. Vote for the twins!” Cole said in his speech at the convention.
Their message connected with voters, creating a moment they’ll never forget.
“When we went, I was like, temper your expectations. It’s like a one percent chance one of you would get elected and then they both were elected. I’ve learned never to doubt them. If they want something, somehow, someway it happens,” Jeremy said. “We’re beaming. We couldn’t be more proud of them. They’ve faced so much adversity and they never complain about it. They just keep going forward towards their goals.”
In Chicago, they’ve soaked up the speeches and rubbed shoulders with Democratic royalty and rising stars. Inspired by their experience, Cole and Preston plan to continue inspiring others.
“It’s about what you do, not if people ever notice or anything like that. Just doing the right thing,” Cole said.
Preston added, “I want to inspire people to be able to live the best life they can and not to feel ashamed for being disabled, because I know a lot of people feel that way.”
With their heads and hearts in the right place, the sky’s the limit for what they can achieve.
