Since 1993, the district had been represented by Democrat Bobby Rush. On January 3, 2022, Rush announced that he would retire rather than seek a sixteenth term in office.[3]
Because Rush announced his retirement just six months before the primaries, the race to succeed him was relatively brief. A wide field of candidates ran in the Democratic primary, including state senator Jacqueline Collins, Chicago alderwoman Pat Dowell, business professor Jonathan Jackson, and attorney Karin Norington-Reaves, whom Rush endorsed as his successor. Jackson won the primary with a low plurality and advanced to the general election, as did nonprofit founder Eric Carlson, who narrowly defeated gun dealer Jeff Regnier in the Republican primary.[4] As expected in this solidly liberal district, Jackson easily dispatched Carlson.[1] Jackson's victory continued the 1st district's 93-year tradition of electing a black man as its representative, dating back to the election of Oscar De Priest in 1929.[5] Jackson took office in the 118th United States Congress in January 2023, joining the Congressional Progressive Caucus.[6]
On January 5, Chicago City Council member Pat Dowell, who had previously been running a long-shot bid for Illinois Secretary of State, announced that she would drop out of that race and instead run to succeed Bobby Rush.[7] On January 9, Karin Norington-Reaves, the CEO of a Chicago-based jobs agency, entered the race.[8] Rush endorsed Norington-Reaves at a press conference on January 13.[9] On January 28, Jonathan Jackson, a business professor, announced a bid for the seat. He is the son of the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the brother of former congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.[10] State senator Jacqueline Collins entered the race in March.[11][12]
In total, seventeen candidates made the primary ballot. The candidates rarely criticized each other, primarily campaigning on their own experience and life story in an attempt to carve out a unique position in the crowded race.[2] Their campaigns relied more on door-to-door canvassing and less on advertising compared to nearby primary elections.[13]
On June 20, a week before the primary, Jackson attracted controversy after his Federal Election Commission filings revealed that his campaign had received over $1 million from PACs associated with the cryptocurrency industry, including $500,000 from a PAC largely funded by wealthy cryptocurrency executive Sam Bankman-Fried.[14]
Criticisms
Jackson was a vocal supporter of cryptocurrency during his campaign and listed it as one of his key campaign issues.[15] Norington-Reaves criticized Jackson for presenting himself as a progressive despite taking large donations from super PACs, while Dowell accused him of putting a "for sale sign" on Rush's House seat.[16][17] Jackson also faced criticism for failing to file timely financial disclosures with the Federal Election Commission. Collins accused him of intentionally delaying his financial disclosures in order to hide who he was receiving money from. In response to the controversy, Jackson claimed that the donations were unsolicited and that his delay in filing disclosures was a mistake.[17] PACs aligned with the cryptocurrency industry spent over $4 million in total on behalf of Illinois House candidates in the 2022 primaries, including Chuy Garcia in the 4th district Democratic primary, Nikki Budzinski in the 13th district Democratic primary, and Rodney Davis in the 15th district Republican primary.[18]
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