Activist and minister Jesse Jackson passed away in February, but his politics are still haunting his family and the state of Illinois from beyond the grave.
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who is running in the state’s Democratic Senate primary Tuesday, touted a posthumous “endorsement” from the late civil rights activist Saturday. Stratton made the announcement after the Jackson family’s organization, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, passed out sample ballots recommending her as a candidate, Politico reported. (RELATED: Joe Biden Told Mourners At Jesse Jackson Funeral ‘I’m A Hell Of A Lot Smarter Than Most Of You’)
“[Jackson’s] example has been a north star for me, and I’m deeply honored to have received his trust, support, and endorsement before his passing,” Stratton said.
However, the quasi-endorsement has since been retracted.
WASHINGTON – APRIL 29: U.S. President Barack Obama (L) greets Jesse Jackson at the funeral service for civil rights leader Dorothy Height at the Washington National Cathedral April 29, 2010 in Washington, DC. Height led the National Council of Negro Women and marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Yusef Jackson, Jesse’s son and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition COO, said the Jackson family would not be making any political endorsements in this election cycle and that the sample ballot had been “released without authorization.”
According to Yusef, his father “began the process of reviewing candidates and identifying those he intended to support in the upcoming primary election” before his death. “Given his passing just over a month ago,” Yusuf said, “the process was never fully completed. Out of respect for my father, we decided not to publicly release his intended selections given the process had not been finalized.”
Democratic Rep. Jonathan Jackson also told Politico that his father “never got in on black-on-black fights” and that he was only excited about his own race and former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s comeback.
“He wouldn’t do that,” Rep. Jonathan Jackson said. “He was always pushing the community forward. This smells of desperation.”
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 17: Illinois Democratic Senate candidate Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton makes a campaign stop at Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicatessen on March 17, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Voters in Illinois are going to the polls in the primary election today. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Stratton’s campaign, however, claimed that Rainbow PUSH told them she had received his endorsement.
“Juliana spoke on Saturday at Rainbow PUSH for a Women’s History Month event and officials told her she received the endorsements. Organizers shared the sample election ballot that was already being distributed and encouraged her to share the news,” they said in a statement.
Although Jackson was considered an icon of the civil rights movement, he also made provocative and racist statements about Jewish people during his 1984 presidential campaign, misused campaign funds, and had an extramarital affair.
Famously, Jackson was caught on a hot mic blasting Barack Obama for “talking down to black people” in 2008.
“I want to cut his nuts out,” he told his guest during a broadcast break.
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