Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-N.C. 14th), a first-term member of Congress drawn out of his district in new maps passed by the N.C. General Assembly, announced Thursday morning that he will be running to be North Carolina's next attorney general.
Jackson joins the race to replace outgoing attorney general Josh Stein, who is running for governor, just one day after the new congressional maps were made law by the N.C. General Assembly. Jackson won his current district – which covers southern and western Charlotte – by 15 points in 2022. It has now been drawn as a safely Republican district.
"A group of politicians in North Carolina just redrew my congressional district to take me out," Jackson said in a video posted on X. "They're going to replace me with one of their political allies. That's political corruption, and I've got news for them. I'm running for attorney general, and I'm going to use that job to go after political corruption."
The new congressional maps will likely produce a net gain of at least three seats for Republicans in the state's congressional delegation and were passed under new, looser redistricting rules. The 5-2 Republican majority on the N.C. Supreme Court decided in April that state courts could not have oversight in redistricting, overturning a previous decision that created a 7-7 partisan split in North Carolina's congressional delegation in 2022 and allowing state legislators to draw the districts without the threat of political gerrymandering being declared illegal in court.
Jackson became famous for his videos on TikTok showcasing his experiences in Congress. He will likely face Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C. 8th) in the general election for attorney general. Bishop is an ally of former president Donald Trump and voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The primary elections for North Carolina will be held on March 5, 2024.
