Jeff Jackson announces bid for Charlotte-area congressional seat

The former U.S. Senate candidate will run for a Democratic-leaning district in Mecklenburg and Gaston counties.

Posted 8:39 p.m. Feb 25, 2022 — Updated 5:55 p.m. Feb 27, 2022

Bryan Anderson

, WRAL statehouse reporter

Democratic state Sen. Jeff Jackson announced Friday that he would run for Congress to compete in a newly drawn district in the Charlotte area.

North Carolina's14th Congressional District he's seeking includes parts of Mecklenburg and Gaston counties. The state senator and former U.S. Senate candidate announced his decision on Twitter.

"This all happened suddenly, but we’re ready," Jackson wrote. "We have the support, the infrastructure and the experience to hit the ground running. I want to finish what we started by making this a campaign you can be proud of."

He also noted his ties to the community, noting that his current seat in the legislature is in Mecklenburg County and that he used to work as an assistant district attorney in the adjacent Gaston County.

The announcement comes less than 48 hours after the state Supreme Court late Wednesday upheld a new congressional map that a lower court enacted.

According to political scientists, the district Jackson is seeking is likely to elect a Democrat.

As of late Friday, Democrat Ram Mammadov and Republican Jonathan Simpson were running in the district. At the time Jackson announced, GOP businessman Matthew Burril was listed as a candidate and had submitted his paperwork on Thursday. But he removed himself from the race on Friday after appearing to file his candidacy in the wrong district.

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