Jackson Family Backs Away From Posthumous Stratton Endorsement Ahead of Senate Primary

The family of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson is contesting a claim that he endorsed Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton in the race for U.S. Senate, saying on Monday that his choices in the primary had not been settled when he died last month.

Stratton's campaign put out a short statement on Saturday saying the Jackson family had announced that he "had personally endorsed" her. It said he made his final endorsements before he died in February, and that Yusef Jackson, one of his sons, was also backing her. The release included a photo of Stratton with Jackson and a quote from Pastor Stephen J. Thurston, a close family friend, who said the civil rights leader saw in her an "unrelenting commitment to the people of Illinois."

By Monday morning, Yusef Jackson had retracted the endorsement. He wrote that his father had started reviewing primary candidates, as he had in earlier election cycles, but never finalized his selections before his death. "Out of respect for my father, we decided not to publicly release his intended selections given the process had not been finalized," he said. He added that a draft sample ballot still in development had been released without authorization, and that neither the Jackson family nor Rainbow PUSH issues political endorsements.

Stratton's campaign described a different sequence of events. It said the endorsement surfaced after she spoke Saturday at a Rainbow PUSH women's history month event, where officials told her she had received it. According to the campaign, organizers shared a sample ballot that was already being handed out and encouraged her to announce the news.

The campaign also released a copy of that ballot, which listed Stratton as the pick for the Senate seat. The pamphlet said it carried the "personal endorsements" of Jesse Jackson and Yusef Jackson.

In a longer statement on Monday evening, Yusef Jackson said "the unintentional error has set off unforeseen controversy" that is affecting "one candidate in particular." He described the retraction as "not confirming nor issuing political endorsements in this cycle."

Jesse Jackson died on Feb. 17 at age 84 after a decade of declining health. In 2017 he disclosed a Parkinson's disease diagnosis dating to two years earlier, but last April he said it had been misdiagnosed and that he actually had progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological disorder. He stepped down as PUSH president in July 2023, citing his health.

The dispute comes as the Democratic primary to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin appears to be tightening. Both Stratton and Rep. Robin Kelly are using past endorsements from former President Barack Obama in their ads, which has also drawn notice. The other leading candidate, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, has spent more than $25 million on ads that began airing in July. The primary is Tuesday.

Also on the Democratic ballot are Steve Botsford Jr., Sean Brown, Awisi A. Bustos, Jonathan Dean, Bryan Maxwell, Kevin Ryan and Christopher Swann. Republican candidates include R. Cary Capparelli, Casey Chlebek, Jeannie Evans, Pamela Denise Long, Jimmie Lee Tillman II and Don Tracy.