Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., on Tuesday launched a campaign to reclaim his old U.S. House seat, marking a political comeback more than a decade after resigning amid scandal and serving prison time for misusing campaign funds.
Jackson, 60, released a video in which he declared he needs to "get back on the playing field and fight for my constituents."
He chose to launch his campaign on the 84th birthday of his father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., calling the moment both symbolic and redemptive.
"I've chosen this day to make a special announcement — the 84th birthday of a man who inspired my life to public service," Jackson said in the video. "A man who blessed me with his name."
The Illinois 2nd Congressional District, which stretches from Chicago's South Side through its southern suburbs and rural counties, is open as Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., runs for the U.S. Senate.
Jackson Jr.'s return adds star power — and controversy — to a crowded field of Democrats that includes state Sens. Robert Peters and Willie Preston, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Yumeka Brown, policy strategist Adal Regis, businessman Eric France, and youth pastor Jeremy Young, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
In his campaign video, Jackson Jr. quoted extensively from his father's 1984 Democratic National Convention speech — the same address that first inspired him to run for office.
"If in my low moments in word, deed, or attitude — and I might add judgment — I've caused anyone discomfort, created pain, or revived someone's fears, that was not my truest self," the younger Jackson said, reciting his father's words.
"I am not a perfect servant. I am a public servant, doing my best against the odds. Be patient. God is not finished with me yet."
Jackson Jr., who served in Congress from 1995 to 2012, resigned after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and later pleaded guilty to misusing $750,000 in campaign funds for personal purchases. He spent 17 months of a 30-month federal sentence and was released in 2015.
Citing a grassroots "draft movement," Jackson Jr. said he's running to offer "a new direction for this district, this party, and this nation."
A poll from his exploratory committee, reported by Axios, suggested he remains a strong contender.
"I will be nominated by people who've been through something," he wrote recently on social media. "People who know struggle, people who have erred, sacrificed, falsely accused, or even guilty — but time served and debt paid. People who know suffering. I feel their pain."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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