basquebromance
Diamond Member
- Nov 26, 2015
- 109,396
- 27,066
- 2,220
- Banned
- #1
Pray for the black kids in your district who aren’t being educated, and a future of poverty, homelessness, and crime awaits them. Good job congressman Bobby Rush.
www.politico.com
excerpts:
“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. “Neither connections nor endorsements guarantee a win but it gives them all a leg up. You have 20 names on the list, so you’re just looking for some way to stand out. Being Rev. Jackson’s son or Bobby Rush’s candidate, that helps a lot.”
Bobby Rush has represented Chicago’s South Side in Congress for three decades. He knows its shops, its people, its trouble spots and, he says, who should follow in his footsteps.
But no one among the parade of political unknowns lining up to compete with the Illinois Democrat’s hand-picked successor seems to care.
“I know my entire district better than anyone else,” Rush said in an interview. “And so, I recruited someone who I thought fit my district like a hand in glove. Who, in some sense, is made or manufactured for my district to replace me.”
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. 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.
A Democratic candidate with perhaps the broadest name recognition, Jonathan Jackson, the second son of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, spent a recent Saturday making his case at a stepping contest.
Though Jackson has never sought public office, he’s been involved in campaigns behind the scenes and was a surrogate for Bernie Sanders during the 2020 presidential campaign. Still, the fact that Rush didn’t endorse Jackson, whose father has been a longtime ally and confidante, has raised eyebrows among some political insiders in Chicago.
Collins has been compared to Sen. Elizabeth Warren for her legislative populism, and was long seen as a successor to Rush. She declined previous opportunities to challenge him out of deference to the veteran congressman but her patience didn’t pay off with his endorsement.
Given the low threshold for winning the primary, lesser-known candidates see an opening. Jonathan Swain, a former appointee of Emanuel when he was Chicago mayor, has raised more than $357,000 to win in the 1st Congressional District. Charise Williams, a public policy leader, is being backed by John Rogers Jr., a Chicago businessperson and fundraising pal of former President Barack Obama. Chris Butler, a pastor, got a boost from former Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) for his opposition to abortion. And a wild card could be Jahmal Cole, who heads a nonprofit that has been recognized by the Obama Foundation. He’s been in the race for more than a year.
Giangreco, the longtime political consultant, compares the contest to rush hour on a notoriously clogged expressway that cuts through Chicago.
“It’s like the Dan Ryan at 5:30,” he said.
Bobby Rush wants to pick who gets his seat. 19 people disagree.
In a difficult election year for Democrats and high turnover in Congress, the 15-term congressman's historic seat is too tempting for would-be candidates to pass up.
www.politico.com
excerpts:
“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. “Neither connections nor endorsements guarantee a win but it gives them all a leg up. You have 20 names on the list, so you’re just looking for some way to stand out. Being Rev. Jackson’s son or Bobby Rush’s candidate, that helps a lot.”
Bobby Rush has represented Chicago’s South Side in Congress for three decades. He knows its shops, its people, its trouble spots and, he says, who should follow in his footsteps.
But no one among the parade of political unknowns lining up to compete with the Illinois Democrat’s hand-picked successor seems to care.
“I know my entire district better than anyone else,” Rush said in an interview. “And so, I recruited someone who I thought fit my district like a hand in glove. Who, in some sense, is made or manufactured for my district to replace me.”
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. 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.
A Democratic candidate with perhaps the broadest name recognition, Jonathan Jackson, the second son of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, spent a recent Saturday making his case at a stepping contest.
Though Jackson has never sought public office, he’s been involved in campaigns behind the scenes and was a surrogate for Bernie Sanders during the 2020 presidential campaign. Still, the fact that Rush didn’t endorse Jackson, whose father has been a longtime ally and confidante, has raised eyebrows among some political insiders in Chicago.
Collins has been compared to Sen. Elizabeth Warren for her legislative populism, and was long seen as a successor to Rush. She declined previous opportunities to challenge him out of deference to the veteran congressman but her patience didn’t pay off with his endorsement.
Given the low threshold for winning the primary, lesser-known candidates see an opening. Jonathan Swain, a former appointee of Emanuel when he was Chicago mayor, has raised more than $357,000 to win in the 1st Congressional District. Charise Williams, a public policy leader, is being backed by John Rogers Jr., a Chicago businessperson and fundraising pal of former President Barack Obama. Chris Butler, a pastor, got a boost from former Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) for his opposition to abortion. And a wild card could be Jahmal Cole, who heads a nonprofit that has been recognized by the Obama Foundation. He’s been in the race for more than a year.
Giangreco, the longtime political consultant, compares the contest to rush hour on a notoriously clogged expressway that cuts through Chicago.
“It’s like the Dan Ryan at 5:30,” he said.
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