Kennedy credited with his victory in Illinois. William Dawson was one of the most powerful Black men in Congress, and one who President John F. Black men have held the seat ever since - including Harold Washington, who later served as Chicago’s first Black mayor. The nation’s first Black congressman elected in the 20th century, Oscar De Priest, held Illinois’ 1st Congressional District for three terms, previewing the political shifts wrought by the Great Migration. Rush’s seat holds historical significance for many Chicagoans. Jackson’s son or Bobby Rush’s candidate, that helps a lot.” You have 20 names on the list, so you’re just looking for some way to stand out. “Neither connections nor endorsements guarantee a win but it gives them all a leg up. “It’s going to be determined on who can spend the most money to drive their brand,” said Democratic strategist Pete Giangreco, who has worked on nine presidential campaigns and numerous Illinois contests, including Rush’s first congressional race. The state Board of Elections will rule on those April 21, but merely to kick off a series of legal parries and counterattacks - a process that can drain first-time candidates - ahead of the June 28 primary. Primary campaigns in Illinois tend to favor those with the money early on to hire election lawyers who can shepherd candidates through a grueling round of petition challenges. Then-county commissioner Mike Quigley bested 11 other candidates with just 22 percent of the vote.Ĭandidates in the 1st District contest could still be whittled down. The openness of the congressional race echoes the special election to fill Rahm Emanuel’s 5th Congressional District seat in 2009 when he zipped off to the Obama White House. There are five candidates in the Republican primary but the fate of the seat will be determined by Democrats, where, this year, a nominee could win the party’s nod with as little as 20 percent of the vote. Jesse Jackson, right, and his son Jonathan Jackson, center, pay their respects to the late Rep. “We are at a point where violence and fear of living - even in your house, enjoying your own home - you cannot be totally comfortable, because a bullet might come through the window,” he said. Rush acknowledges his South Side district, which has been drawn to favor a Democrat, has been hit hard by violence. People have stagnant wages, and the most vulnerable become susceptible to violence.” If it’s too expensive, you move farther away. “The price of gas impacts how you get to work and access essential services. It’s cost-of-living issues,” Jackson said in an interview. “They want to talk about guns, gas and groceries. And while this election hinges on who can get their name out, gun violence - which climbed in many cities throughout the pandemic, including Chicago - is what candidates find themselves discussing with voters, particularly after social justice protests have waned over the past year. The clamoring to succeed - and ultimately rebuff - Rush speaks to how prized safe seats are in a tough election cycle for Democrats and the overall turnover of Congress. Jesse Jackson, spent a recent Saturday making his case at a stepping contest. Alongside Norington-Reaves, there are now 19 other Democrats - small-business leaders, pastors, a teacher, a youth activist and a few elected officials among them - telling their stories at churches, block clubs, nail salons and senior centers across the South Side.Ī Democratic candidate with perhaps the broadest name recognition, Jonathan Jackson, the second son of civil rights leader Rev. Yet in the weeks since his January endorsement of Karin Norington-Reaves, a nonprofit executive with no significant political experience, the Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District has only gotten more crowded.
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