Jesse Jackson Jr. pitches redemption in bid for old House seat years after campaign fraud conviction
Source: AP
Updated 12:05 AM EST, February 5, 2026
COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. (AP) — As Jesse Jackson Jr. campaigns for his old U.S. House seat at Chicago-area churches, banquet halls and on Black radio shows, he often takes a moment to address the obvious matter hanging over his political comeback. The son of the civil rights icon tries to bring it up first: A 2013 campaign fraud conviction that ended his 17-year political career.
“It’s now part of my story,” Jackson told the pastors, elected officials and retirees gathered on a recent Saturday to hear his lofty plan to revive Chicago’s sagging south suburbs. “I’ve cried enough. I’m divorced now. I’ve lost my home in foreclosure. I’ve been through everything that comes with that process.”
At 60, Jackson has launched a spirited primary bid in the largely Black district where he started his career, saying his new perspective makes him an ideal candidate at a time when voters have accepted a president and others with serious criminal histories. The theme of redemption is woven through his return in the firmly Democratic territory with stories about incarceration, sparse job prospects and caring for his ailing dad, the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
But the efforts to reclaim the name belonging to one of the nation’s most famous political families haven’t been without eyerolls and jabs from candidates in the crowded March primary who say Jackson had his chance in a district plagued by political corruption. “What I think matters is that trust has to be earned,” Jackson told The Associated Press while campaigning recently. “I’m cognizant of that.”
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/primary-illinois-chicago-jesse-jackson-election-ca6fd203e953a9c6352026542309572f
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