Jeff Jackson (politician)
Jeffrey Neale Jackson (born September 12, 1982) is an American politician, attorney, and major in the North Carolina National Guard. A Democrat, he has represented the 37th district in the North Carolina Senate since 2014. In 2002, Jackson enlisted 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. After graduating from law school, Jackson worked as an assistant district attorney in Gaston County. He is of counsel at Womble Bond Dickinson. On February 25 , 2022, Jackson announced he would be running for the U.S. House of Representatives in North Carolina's new 14th congressional district. Early life. Raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 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. Earlier career and military service. Jackson signed up for the United States Army Reserve in 2002. Jackson currently works as a business litigator at Womble Bond Dickinson in Charlotte. Jackson also continues to serve in the North Carolina Army  National Guard as a major in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. Prior to joining the state 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. North Carolina Senate. When Sen. Dan Clodfelter resigned to become Mayor of Charlotte in 2014, his vacancy in the state Senate had to be filled by local Democratic precinct members. Jackson sought the office, along with three other candidates. Of 49 votes, Jackson received 25, officially winning by one vote. Jackson was  also chosen to replace Clodfelter as the Democratic nominee on the November 2014 general election ballot. Because no other person had filed to run against Clodfelter for the seat, Jackson ran unopposed for a full two-year term. Jackson was re-elected to his second full term in 2016, winning with 68% of the vote against Bob Diamond. Jackson gained national attention when he was the only legislator to show up for work on a snow day in February 2015. He supports significantly expanding pre-K education programs. In 2017, Jackson introduced a bill to repeal the Public Facilities Privacy  & Security Act, also known as HB2. 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". After several years of introducing a bill to close the consent loophole, it passed unanimously in 2019. Jackson faced his first competitive race in 2020. His district had been significantly redrawn and was now a D+2 district, in which a Democratic candidate would only be expected to win by two  points. 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. Jackson beat Nichols 55% to 41%. 2022 U.S. Senate campaign. 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 won re-election. He was also mentioned as a potential challenger to North Carolina's other Republican Senator, Thom Tillis in 2020. On January 26, 2021, Jackson announced he would be running  to replace retiring U.S. Senator Richard Burr in North Carolina's 2022 United States Senate election. He announced in his campaign announcement video that he would be running a "100 county campaign" in which he would visit each of North Carolina's 100 counties. It was reported that his campaign had raised over $500,000 within 48 hours of his announcement. Jackson raised more than $900,000 in the third quarter of 2021, and in total, raised more than $3 million from the time he announced his candidacy in January 2021. On December 16, 2021, Jackson announced that he  would be suspending his campaign and endorsing Cheri Beasley. 2022 U.S. House campaign. Following redistricting, Jackson announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in the state's new 14th congressional district on Feb. 25, 2022. Personal life. Jackson is married to Marisa, a marketing director. They have three children. In 2020, Jackson was named one of "Charlotte Magazine" Charlotteans of the Year.