Dispute Over Jesse Jackson Endorsement Roils Illinois Senate Campaign

The family of the late activist Rev. Jesse Jackson is withdrawing what appeared to be a posthumous endorsement for Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s U.S. Senate campaign on Monday, saying that an unfinished draft of his choices had been given to her team.

In a statement released on Saturday, Stratton’s campaign said the Jackson family announced “he had personally endorsed” Stratton “before his passing in February,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The statement also featured a photograph of Jackson with Stratton.

But on Monday, one of Jackson’s children, Yusef Jackson, blamed the situation on an “internal miscommunication” and said in a statement that his father actually had not made up his mind at the time of his death.

“Out of respect for my father, we decided not to publicly release his intended selections given the process had not been finalized,” Yusef Jackson said. “Unfortunately, this weekend, a draft sample ballot that was in development was released without authorization. It is important to note that the Jackson Family does not issue political endorsements, nor do Rainbow PUSH or the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.”

Stratton is among 10 Democratic candidates running for longtime Washington staple Dick Durbin’s Illinois Senate seat. The race also includes Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi. Kelly and Stratton are the only two Black women running to fill the role.

According to the Tribune, Stratton’s campaign claimed that it was notified by the Jackson family of the endorsement over the weekend and encouraged to promote it, which prompted her staff to print flyers.

“Organizers shared the sample election ballot that was already being distributed and encouraged her to share the news,” the campaign said in a statement.

The pamphlet said it featured the “personal endorsements” of Jesse Jackson and Yusef Jackson.

Politico reported on Monday that Jesse Jackson’s daughter Jacqueline Jackson called Kelly on Monday to apologize for confusion around the Stratton endorsement.

In a Monday evening post to Facebook, Yusef Jackson said he wanted to clarify that “we did not withdraw or retract our endorsement of any one candidate. Instead, we made clear that the document shared this weekend was not final and out of respect for our late father … we would not be confirming or issuing political endorsements in this cycle.”

Stratton’s campaign has a number of other big-name backers: She has accepted nearly $5 million in contributions from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, though Krishnamoorthi has remained ahead in the polls.