Juliana Stratton Claimed Rev. Jesse Jackson Endorsed Her. His Family Says It Never Happened.

Stratton caught in lie: “He wouldn’t do that. He was always pushing the community forward. This smells of desperation.” - Rep. Jonathan Jackson, son of Rev. Jesse Jackson

Juliana Stratton Claimed Rev. Jesse Jackson Endorsed Her. His Family Says It Never Happened.

 

Stratton caught in lie: “He wouldn’t do that. He was always pushing the community forward. This smells of desperation.” - Rep. Jonathan Jackson, son of Rev. Jesse Jackson

 


In politics, endorsements matter – but only when they’re real. That’s why the latest episode in Illinois’ Democratic Senate primary is so troubling, and why it reflects poorly on Juliana Stratton’s campaign.


Over the weekend, Stratton’s team announced that the late Rev. Jesse Jackson had “personally endorsed” her before his death in mid-February. There was just one problem: According to Jackson’s own family, it never happened.


Within days, the false claim quickly unraveled. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, one of Rev. Jackson’s sons, said Stratton’s claim didn’t line up with what his family knew. The congressman said neither he nor his mother knew of his father having made an endorsement in the Senate primary. “My father never got in on Black-on-Black fights,” he said Sunday afternoon. “He wouldn’t do that. He was always pushing the community forward. This smells of desperation.” According to Rep. Jackson, the only endorsements his father had openly discussed were for his sons. “He was excited about me and Jesse Jr. That’s all we know about.”

Desperation is a harsh word. But it’s hard to read the episode any other way.

That alone should have been embarrassing. But the response from another member of the Jackson family made the situation even clearer.

Yusef Jackson, another son of the late Civil Rights leader, stepped forward on Monday to say the endorsement simply wasn’t real. He said his father had begun reviewing candidates but never finalized his endorsements before his death. The sample ballot circulating with Stratton’s name, he explained, was merely a draft that had been released without authorization.


In other words, the endorsement Stratton celebrated wasn’t an endorsement at all.

Rev. Jesse Jackson wasn’t just another political figure whose name could be casually dropped into a campaign press release.  He was a civil rights giant — a man whose decades of activism reshaped American politics and expanded opportunity for millions. Invoking that legacy after his death, without clear confirmation from his family, crosses a line.

And it comes at an awkward moment for Stratton’s campaign, which has also been benefiting from ads that suggest another major endorsement that doesn’t exist.

A dark money super PAC supporting Stratton has been running radio ads implying support from former President Barack Obama. Yet Obama hasn’t endorsed anyone in the race.

Taken together, the pattern is hard to ignore. First President Obama. Then Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Two towering figures in Illinois political history whose names are suddenly appearing in connection with a campaign that doesn’t actually have their backing. Campaigns are competitive, candidates want every possible advantage – that’s nothing new.

But there’s a difference between highlighting genuine support and manufacturing the impression of it. Rev. Jesse Jackson spent his life fighting for justice, honesty and the empowerment of the communities he served. Juliana Stratton’s decision to use his name in a way his own family disputes doesn’t honor that legacy – it diminishes it.

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