Jesse Jackson’s Family Walks Back ‘Unauthorized’ Endorsement Of Juliana Stratton

The mix-up couldn't come at a worse time, as it could cause more confusion for Black Democratic voters.

The family of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson is walking back an endorsement ahead of Illinois’ March 17 primary election, touted by Illinois Lieutenant Governor and Senate candidate, Juliana Stratton, after claiming endorsements from the late civil rights leader weren’t done prior to his death, Politico reported.

The reported confusion stemmed from Stratton’s observation that the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Jackson’s organization, distributed sample ballots on March 14 that endorsed Stratton as the candidate.

“[Jackson’s] example has been a north star for me, and I’m deeply honored to have received his trust, support, and endorsement before his passing,” Stratton said in a statement.

While Jackson’s son and Rainbow’s CEO, Yusef, doesn’t deny that his father “began the process of reviewing candidates and identifying those he intended to support in the upcoming primary election” prior to his death, he claimeddefint the ballots were unauthorized, meaning the endorsement isn’t valid.

“However, given his passing just over a month ago, the process was never fully completed,” Jackson said.

“Out of respect for my father, we decided not to publicly release his intended selections given the process had not been finalized.”

However, Stratton isn’t backing down from the narrative that she had the endorsement in her hand, claiming she was informed at the event that she could share the announcement.

“Juliana spoke on Saturday at Rainbow PUSH for a Women’s History Month event, and officials told her she received the endorsements. Organizers shared the sample election ballot that was already being distributed and encouraged her to share the news,” her team said in a statement, according to The Hill.

But in a back-and-forth, Jackson labeled the issue as “unforeseen controversy, unfortunately revolved around one candidate in particular.” He did clarify that his family “did not withdraw or retract our endorsement of any one candidate” as “we made clear that the document shared this weekend was not final.”

The mix-up couldn’t come at a worse time, as it could cause more confusion for Black Democratic voters. Stratton and fellow candidate Rep. Robin Kelly both have their eyes on taking over for Sen. Dick Durbin, who is retiring.

With Stratton’s eye-catching “F*** Trump” campaign video, some voters are concerned that the lieutenant governor and Kelly could split the primary vote, which could open doors for Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) to secure the nomination.

While her campaign says “Juliana is spending the final hours of this campaign talking to voters and making sure every Illinoisan hears how she plans to take on Donald Trump and bring their voices to Washington,” a poll shows that a majority of Democratic voters want a candidate that leans more towards their values – 56% to be exact. Forty-two percent want the candidate with the best chance of winning a general election.