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CHICAGO — Jesse Jackson Jr. is returning to the political stage, seeking the same congressional seat he once held for 17 years.
Jackson Jr. has announced his candidacy for Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District, the same office he held from 1995 to 2012, when he resigned amid a criminal investigation. The seat is currently being held by U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, who’s stepping down to run for Senate in 2026 in the seat that will be vacated by retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.
Jackson Jr. announced his candidacy to replace Kelly in a news release Wednesday morning, which is also the 84th birthday of his father, civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson.
“I’ve chosen this day to make a special announcement,” Jackson Jr. said in his official campaign launch video, which can be seen HERE on YouTube. “The 84th birthday of a man who inspired my life to public service. A man who blessed me with his name.”
‘Please forgive me’
Jackson Jr., whose brother U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson represents Illinois’ 1st District, was once a rising star in the Democratic Party. But he resigned in 2012 and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to defraud his re-election campaign.
Earlier this year, a day after former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich received a presidential pardon, Jackson Jr. called for himself and millions more to be pardoned, too.
In his announcement that he’s running for Congress again, Jackson Jr. hearkened back to his father’s speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, which Jackson Jr. attended.
Jackson Jr. says his father’s words have since echoed with him on his own journey toward redemption.
“In that speech, my father said, ‘If in my low moments in word, deed, or attitude’ — and I might add judgment — ‘through some error of temper, taste or tone, I’ve caused anyone discomfort, created pain, or revived someone’s fears, that was not my truest self.
“‘Please forgive me. I am not a perfect servant. I am a public servant. Doing my best against the odds. As I develop and serve, be patient. God is not finished with me yet.’”
Response to draft movement
According to Jackson Jr.’s news release, after the passage of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill this summer, retired U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush led an effort with other public officials, community voices, and business leaders to draft Jackson Jr. into the Illinois 2nd Congressional District race.
The group launched the Friends of Jesse Jackson Jr. for Congress 2026 Exploratory Committee in July to advance the draft effort, and Jackson Jr. asked the exploratory committee to collect 10,000 signatures for nominating petitions and to register 5,000 new voters in the 2nd Congressional District.
According to Jackson Jr., the group delivered.
“I am responding to a draft movement to enter this race,” he said in his candidacy announcement. “Like my father before me, I ask for your vote as a vote for a new direction for this district, this party and this nation.”
In his announcement, Jackson Jr. previewed plans he says he’ll unveil in the coming weeks, including a robust economic plan for the district. He says job creation and increased access to affordable healthcare will be top priorities.
“Women should have better access to maternal care,” Jackson Jr. said. “Every resident in the 2nd Congressional District should have access to a doctor and to care for mental health.”
During his previous 17-year tenure representing the district, Wednesday’s news releases states, Jackson Jr. brought more than $968 million in grants to the district and was known as a results-driven member of Congress.
“Jesse never missed a vote during his 17 years in Congress. He will fight to ensure no one is left behind,” Rush said in the release.
Among Jackson Jr.’s previous accomplishments as a congressman, the release says, include the establishment of a national park in Pullman, providing freshwater to Ford Heights, the purchase of 4,000 acres to build an inaugural airport, building a dozen new metro stations from Hyde Park to 93rd Street, changing municipal zip codes, and providing signage to identify towns and villages along the Bishop Ford Freeway and I-57.
Kelly has represented Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District since 2013, but earlier this year she announced her campaign to fill the seat that will be left behind by the retiring Durbin. Kelly is part of a competitive field for the seat that already includes U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois’ 8th District and Illinois Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton.
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