A former Congressman who went to federal prison shortly after leaving the House lost a Democratic primary Tuesday night in the district he had represented for 17 years before resigning.
Jesse Jackson Jr., the son of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights leader and former two-time presidential candidate, was sentenced to 30 months in prison in 2013 for conspiring to defraud his reelection campaign funds. In a comeback bid, Jackson Jr. lost the crowded primary by a wide margin to Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller taking only 28.7% of the vote to Miller’s 40.8% with 78% of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press (AP). (RELATED: Jesse Jackson’s Dead But His Politics Still Haunting Family And State From The Grave)
Jackson Jr., 60, used roughly $750,000 in campaign funds for personal items and expenses, including high-end appliances and electronics such as Rolex watches and Michael Jackson memorabilia.
He repeatedly filed misleading reports to conceal seven years of illegal campaign finance activity and served 17 months in federal prison. Jackson Jr. represented Illinois’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2012 before abruptly exiting his seat, citing mental health reasons.
Civil Rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson visits with guests at the National Bar Association’s annual convention on July 31, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
He announced his reelection campaign on the elder Jackson’s 84th birthday, just four months before his death in February, with a video invoking the memory of his father’s legacy. He claimed he had unfinished work in Congress and aims to expand the Affordable Care Act to include dental, vision and hearing benefits.
“‘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,’” Jackson Jr. said.
The seat was left open by Democratic Illinois Rep. Robin Kelly who came in a distant third place in her bid for U.S. Senate in the state’s primary Tuesday night. The crowded primary was flooded with donations from pro-cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence (AI) PACs, and Jackson Jr. accepted over $1 million in campaign contributions from AI donors.
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