Jeff Jackson (politician)

Jeffrey Neale Jackson (born September 12, 1982) is an American politician, attorney, and military officer serving as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 14th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the 37th district in the North Carolina Senate from 2014 to 2022.

Jeff Jackson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 14th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byConstituency established
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 37th district
In office
May 6, 2014 – January 1, 2023
Preceded byDan Clodfelter
Succeeded byRachel Hunt (Redistricting)
Personal details
Born
Jeffrey Neale Jackson

(1982-09-12) September 12, 1982
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Marisa Bell
​
(m. 2013)​
Children3
EducationEmory University (BA, MA)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (JD)
WebsiteHouse website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service2002–present
RankMajor
UnitNorth Carolina Army National Guard
United States Army Reserve
Battles/warsWar in Afghanistan

After graduating from law school, Jackson worked as an assistant district attorney in Gaston County. He was counsel at Womble Bond Dickinson. In 2002, Jackson commissioned in the United States Army Reserve and served in the Kandahar Province during the War in Afghanistan. He now serves in the Judge Advocate General's Corps with the Army National Guard.[1] In October, 2023, he announced his candidacy for North Carolina Attorney General after the North Carolina Legislature redrew the states congressional districts.[2]

Early life and education

Jackson was born in Miami, Florida, on September 12, 1982, and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.[3][4][5] His father, Nathan Jackson, is a doctor, and his mother is a nurse.[6][7] Jackson earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in philosophy from Emory University. He also earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law.[8]

Jackson signed up for the United States Army Reserve in 2002. He worked as a business litigator at Womble Bond Dickinson in Charlotte.[9] Jackson also continues to serve in the North Carolina Army National Guard as a major in the Judge Advocate General's Corps.[10][11]

Before joining the North Carolina Senate, Jackson worked as a prosecutor in Gaston County, North Carolina. He resigned upon joining the Senate, as the state constitution prohibits serving as an elected official and a prosecutor simultaneously.[12]

North Carolina Senate

When Senator Dan Clodfelter resigned to become mayor of Charlotte in 2014, his State Senate seat had to be filled by local Democratic precinct members. Jackson and three other candidates sought the office. Of 49 votes, Jackson received 25, winning by one vote. Jackson was also chosen to replace Clodfelter as the Democratic nominee in the November 2014 general election. Because no one else filed to run against Clodfelter, Jackson ran unopposed for a full two-year term.[13] He was reelected to a second full term in 2016 with 68% of the vote against Bob Diamond.[14]

Jackson gained national attention when he was the only legislator to show up for work on a snow day in February 2015.[15]

He supports significantly expanding pre-K education programs.[16] In 2017, Jackson introduced a bill to repeal the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, also known as HB2.[17]

Under previous North Carolina law, women could not legally revoke their consent to engage in sexual intercourse once that act has consensually begun, meaning that, according to Jackson, North Carolina was "the only state in the country where no doesn't really mean no".[18] After several years of introducing a bill to close the consent loophole, it passed unanimously in 2019.[19][20]

Jackson faced his first competitive race in 2020.[21] His district had been significantly redrawn and was now a D+2 district, in which a Democratic candidate would be expected to win by two points.[21] Jackson was called up for National Guard duty during the final weeks of his campaign, so his wife, Marisa, became the face of the campaign for the closing weeks.[22] Jackson won the election with 55% of the vote.[23]

2022 U.S. Senate campaign
Jackson's state senatorial portrait
Main article: 2022 United States Senate election in North Carolina

Various news outlets mentioned Jackson as a potential candidate against Republican incumbent Richard Burr in North Carolina's 2016 U.S. Senate election. Jackson declined to run and Burr was reelected.[24][25] He was also mentioned as a potential challenger to North Carolina's other U.S. senator, Thom Tillis, in 2020.

On January 26, 2021, Jackson announced he would run to replace Burr, who was retiring, in North Carolina's 2022 United States Senate election.[26] He announced that he would run a "100-county campaign", visiting all of North Carolina's 100 counties.[27] His campaign raised over $500,000 within 48 hours of his announcement.[28] Jackson raised more than $900,000 in the third quarter of 2021, and in total more than $3 million from the time he announced his candidacy in January 2021.[29] On December 16, 2021, Jackson announced that he would suspend his campaign and endorsed Cheri Beasley.[30]

U.S. House of Representatives

2022 election
Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina § District 14

Following redistricting, Jackson announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in the state's new 14th congressional district on February 25, 2022. The district includes most of the southern half of Mecklenburg County, as well as eastern Gaston County.[31] Jackson won the general election, defeating Republican nominee Pat Harrigan with nearly 58% of the vote.[32]

Tenure

After taking office, Jackson garnered attention with his social media accounts, which he uses to talk about policy issues and how Congress works.[33][34][35]

Committee memberships

Jackson serves on the United States House Committee on Armed Services and the United States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.[36][37] In the Armed Services committee, he serves on the subcommittees for Intelligence and Special Operations[38] and Tactical Air and Land Forces.[39] In the Science, Space, and Technology committee, he serves on the subcommittees for Space and Aeronautics[40] and Investigations and Oversight.[41]

Caucus memberships

Personal life

Jackson is married to Marisa Jackson and lives in Charlotte. He has two sons and a daughter, including his stepson from Marisa's previous relationship.[44] In 2020, Jackson was named one of Charlotte Magazine's Charlotteans of the Year.[45]

Electoral history

U.S. House
2022 North Carolina's 14th congressional district general election[46]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jeff Jackson 148,738 57.7
Republican Pat Harrigan 109,014 42.3

References
  1. Dunn, Andrew. "Jeff Jackson is the N.C. politician most likely to become president". Longleaf Politics. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  2. Fernandez, Madison (October 26, 2023). "Jeff Jackson running for N.C. attorney general after being gerrymandered out of House seat". POLITICO. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  3. "JACKSON, Jeff". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  4. Graff, Michael (January 26, 2021). "Exclusive: How Charlotte's favorite millennial politician dad decided to run for Senate". Charlotte Axios. Retrieved April 2, 2021. He was in college on 9/11, one day shy of 19 years old.
  5. Bowler, Taylor (October 1, 2020). "Parent to Know: N.C. Sen. Jeff Jackson". Charlotte Parent. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  6. "E-mails home from Afghanistan". Emory Magazine. 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  7. Kruse, Jeff (October 29, 2021). "One of These People Is the Future of the Democratic South". Politico. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  8. DePriest, Joe (May 3, 2014). "Democrats elect Jeff Jackson to replace former state Sen. Clodfelter". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  9. "Jeff Jackson". wcsr.com. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  10. Sen, Ari (August 5, 2017). "Mumpower, Jackson debate state education funding". Citizen-Times. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  11. Steve, Harrison (January 26, 2021). "Mecklenburg State Sen. Jeff Jackson Is Running for U.S. Senate in 2022". WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  12. Morrill, Jim (June 9, 2014). "After winning N.C. Senate seat, he loses day job". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  13. Profile (2), CharlotteObserver.com, May 3, 2014.
  14. "North Carolina 37th District State Senate Results: Jeff Jackson Wins". Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  15. "One way to spend a snow day: Pass all the laws you want". newsobserver. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  16. Park, Jackie (July 13, 2015). "Sen. Jeff Jackson is an Army captain, attorney, dad and social media sensation". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  17. Rose, Alex (February 1, 2017). "3 Democratic senators file bill for 'full, clean' repeal of House Bill 2". Fox 8. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  18. "This loophole fails to protect some rape victims in North Carolina". NBC News. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  19. ""It's disgusting": Loopholes remain in North Carolina's sexual assault laws". NBC News. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  20. Padilla, Mariel (November 2, 2019). "North Carolina Lawmakers Pass Bill to Close Sexual Assault Loopholes (Published 2019)". The New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  21. "He cruised to 3 easy victories. Now Sen. Jeff Jackson faces the fight of his political life". www.charlotteobserver.com. October 22, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  22. "Sen. Jackson leaving for training, turning campaign operations to wife". WBTV. October 25, 2020.
  23. "NC SBE Election Contest Details". er.ncsbe.gov.
  24. Cahn, Emily (March 13, 2015). "Democrats Prep North Carolina Contingency Plan". Roll Call. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  25. Schoof, Renee (May 29, 2015). "Wanted: Democrat to seek N.C. Senate seat; faint of heart need not apply". McClatchy DC. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  26. Harrison, Steve (January 26, 2021). "Mecklenburg State Sen. Jeff Jackson Is Running for U.S. Senate in 2022". WFAE. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  27. Murphy, Brian. "Charlotte Democrat Jeff Jackson to jump into U.S. Senate race". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  28. Joe Bruno [@JoeBrunoWSOC9] (January 28, 2021). "State Senator Jeff Jackson's campaign says he has raised more than $500,000 in less than 48 hours. Per the campaign: 90% of donations from North Carolinians, 78% of contributions under $100 and no contributions from PACs or self funding #ncsen #ncpol @wsoctv" (Tweet). Retrieved April 3, 2021 – via Twitter.
  29. Wright, Will (October 7, 2021). "In NC race for Senate, one Democrat had a winning quarter". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  30. "State Senator Jeff Jackson ends bid for U.S. Senate". WITN-TV. December 16, 2021. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  31. Axios Charlotte
  32. "Democrat Jeff Jackson wins 14th Congressional District seat". WFAE. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  33. "N.C. lawmaker goes viral in TikTok videos". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  34. Sherman, Lucille (March 13, 2023). "Jeff Jackson has leveraged his social media prowess into a big online following". Axios. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  35. Lahut, Jake (March 5, 2023). "How This Rookie Congressman Got TikTok Famous". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  36. "House Armed Services Committee - Democrats". House Armed Services Committee - Democrats. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  37. "Committee Members". House Committee on Science Space & Tech - Republicans. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  38. "Intelligence and Special Operations (118th Congress)". Armed Services Republicans. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  39. "Tactical Air and Land Forces (118th Congress)". Armed Services Republicans. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  40. "Space and Aeronautics". House Committee on Science Space & Tech - Republicans. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  41. "Investigations and Oversight". House Committee on Science Space & Tech - Republicans. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  42. "Endorsed Candidates". NewDem Action Fund. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  43. "Members". LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  44. "About". Congressman Jeff Jackson. January 3, 2023. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  45. "2020 Charlottean of the Year: N.C. Sen. Jeff Jackson". November 17, 2020.
  46. "Election Results" (PDF). North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE). Retrieved November 29, 2022.
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