The family of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson clarified on Monday that a supposed endorsement claimed by one Democratic front-runner in the Illinois Senate primary after the civil rights activist’s death was released without authorization.
The family’s statement came days after Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton announced Jackson had endorsed her before he died last month. One of Jackson’s sons, Yusef, states the contrary.
Yusef explained that his father had begun reviewing candidates to support in the state’s upcoming primary election, but he died before he could complete the process.
“Out of respect for my father, we decided not to publicly release his intended selections given the process had not been finalized,” the youngest of Jackson’s three sons said in a statement. “However, due to an internal miscommunication, a draft sample ballot was released by a staff person who did not have authorization.”
The staffer for Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Jackson family’s organization, told Stratton on Saturday that she had won the late reverend’s support.
“She kind of came over to me and said, ‘I wanted you to know that Reverend Jackson, we all discussed this before he passed, and these are his endorsements,’ Stratton told the Chicago-based ABC affiliate, recounting her conversation with Rainbow PUSH political director Betty Magness. “And it was a sheet of about 100 different people, but I was on the list for United States Senate.”
The family dialed back the staffer’s relay of an endorsement, stressing that one was never formally given by Jackson in the first place.
“I want to be very clear. We did not withdraw or retract our endorsement of any one candidate,” Yusef said. “Instead, we made clear that the document shared this weekend was not final and out of respect for my late father and in our family’s time of bereavement, we would not be confirming nor issuing political endorsements in this cycle.”
Jackson’s second-oldest son, who is a congressman, also weighed in on the endorsement controversy.
“My father never got in on black-on-black fights,” Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) told Politico Playbook, referring to the Senate race. “He wouldn’t do that. He was always pushing the community forward. This smells of desperation.”
Stratton is one of three prominent Democratic politicians running to succeed Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who is retiring at the end of this year. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Robin Kelly (D-IL) are seen as the next front-runners, although the latter hasn’t been performing as well in polling.
Kelly’s run for the open Senate seat has left her own district open for the taking. In that congressional race, Jesse Jackson Jr. is the most well-known Democratic contender and likely winner.
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Stratton’s advantage over her primary competitors rests in high-profile endorsements from Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) and sitting members of Congress, including Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Illinois voters are heading to the polls for the statewide primary elections on Tuesday.