Jesse White (politician)

Jesse Clark White (born June 23, 1934) is a Democratic American politician.  He served as the 37th and the longest serving Secretary of State of Illinois and the first African American to hold this position. He decided to retire in 2022 instead of running for a seventh term.

Early life
White was born in Alton, Illinois on June 23, 1934. He attended Alabama State University.

As Secretary of State
First elected to Secretary of State of Illinois in 1998, White was re-elected in 2002 by winning all 102 counties and garnering more than 2.3 million votes, the largest vote total by any candidate for Illinois statewide office in a quarter of a century.  In 2006, White was re-elected to a third term, having received 63 percent of the vote statewide. White was elected to a fourth term in 2010, the leading vote-getter in the entire state.

Electoral history
2010 Race for Secretary of State of Illinois
Jesse White (D) (inc.), 70%
Robert Enriquez (R), 27%
2006 Race for Secretary of State of Illinois
Jesse White (D) (inc.), 62%
Dan Rutherford (R), 34%
2002 Race for Secretary of State of Illinois
Jesse White (D) (inc.), 69%
Kristine O'Rourke Cohn (R), 29%
1998 Race for Secretary of State of Illinois
Jesse White (D), 57%
Al Salvi (R), 43%

References

Other websites
Illinois Secretary of State – official site
biography 
Follow the Money – Jesse White: 2006 campaign cycle, 2008 "campaign" cycle contributions
Project Vote Smart – Jesse White (IL) profile
Jesse White Tumbling Team official site
Jesse White 2010  official 2010 campaign site

Category:1934 births
Category:Living people
Category:Politicians from Chicago
Category:Democratic Party (United States) politicians
Category:Educators from Chicago