Rev. Jesse Jackson's sons dial back a posthumous endorsement from the civil rights leader
Just days before the competitive Illinois Democratic Senate primary set for Tuesday, candidate Lt. Gov Juliana Stratton rolled out a major endorsement: the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died one month ago.
But some of Jackson’s sons now say they either were not aware of the endorsement or that Jackson's draft endorsements for primaries were not meant to be made public after his death, although Stratton has said she was told about the endorsement by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition that Jackson helmed.
Stratton wrote in a statement on Saturday announcing the endorsement that she's "deeply honored to have received his trust, support, and endorsement before his passing. I will work tirelessly to carry on his legacy of fighting for justice, equality, and freedom in Washington."
Jackson, the civil rights leader, Baptist minister and pioneering politician who launched two bids for the U.S. presidency, passed away in February. Throughout his life, he played a major role in civil rights and politics in Illinois, including founding in Chicago the organizations that became the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a major civil rights group.
Given his stature and roots in the community, his endorsement could carry major weight, especially given how Chicago’s voters represent a large percentage of the statewide vote in the Democratic primary.
But one of Jackson's sons, Rep. Jonathan Jackson, said he and his mother never heard about the endorsement where two high-profile Black women -- Stratton and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly -- vie for retiring Sen. Dick Durbin's seat. He told POLITICO, in a comment published Monday, “My father never got in on Black-on-Black fights. He wouldn’t do that. He was always pushing the community forward. This smells of desperation.”
ABC News has reached out to Jonathan Jackson’s office for comment.
Stratton told ABC station WLS-TV on Sunday that at a Saturday event, an official from the Rainbow PUSH Coalition came over to her “and said, I wanted you to know that Reverend Jackson -- we all discussed this before he passed -- and these are his endorsements. And it was a sheet of about 100 different people, but I was on the list for United States Senate."
But Yusef Jackson, another of Rev. Jesse Jackson’s children and the chief operating officer of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, wrote in an initial statement on Monday that a "draft sample ballot was released without authorization" over the weekend.
Yusef Jackson said that his father had been working on determining who he wanted to endorse in Illinois primaries, but "given his passing just over a month ago, 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."
Yusef Jackson did not say that Stratton was asked to keep the endorsement quiet. He also didn't explain the apparent discrepancy between his and Jonathan Jackson’s accounts.
After Yusef Jackson’s statement, a Stratton campaign spokesperson said that Rainbow PUSH officials spoke with her on Saturday, and "told her she received the endorsements."
"Organizers shared the sample election ballot that was already being distributed and encouraged her to share the news," the spokesperson said.
Yusef Jackson released another statement on Monday evening, saying that his family did not "withdraw or retract" any endorsements. Jackson said that a staffer had released a "draft sample ballot" without being authorized to, due to a miscommunication.
"We did not withdraw or retract our endorsement of any one candidate," Jackson said in a statement shared on Rev. Jesse Jackson's X account, which has been operating as a memorial account since his passing. Yusef Jackson called the controversy one that "unfortunately revolved around one candidate in particular," without naming Stratton.
"Instead, we made clear that the document shared this weekend was not final and out of respect for my late father and in our family's time of bereavement, we would not be confirming nor issuing political endorsements in this cycle," he wrote.
The posthumous endorsement has set off some pushback among Democrats in Illinois.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is also running in the Senate primary, told WLS-TV that "someone was saying they're looking through the history books to decide who should endorse me … I think ultimately, the endorsement that I seek is from the voters."
And Kelly, another of the race's frontrunners, told WLS-TV, “I've talked to a couple of his kids; they don't know anything about it. So, I don't know. It is what it is."
Stratton has also been endorsed by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Democratic Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth and other national and state politicians.
ABC News' Patricio Chile and David Brennan contributed to this report.
