Jesse Jackson posthumously spurs 'commotion' in key Senate race

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton on Saturday touted a Senate endorsement from the late Rev.

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton on Saturday touted a Senate endorsement from the late Rev. Jesse Jackson that she said she had just been notified she received, days before Illinois Democrats choose their nominee to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin.

But instead, the announcement has turned into a back-and-forth saga. Jackson’s group, Rainbow PUSH, and his son Yusef later said that the endorsement, weeks after Jackson's death, was not meant to be public and didn’t have final approval. He attributed the mix-up to a staff member.

That was after another son, Rep. Jonathan Jackson, raised eyebrows when he doubted the endorsement in comments to Politico, saying: “He wouldn’t do that. ... This smells of desperation.”

Reached by NBC News on Monday evening, Rep. Jackson backed off those remarks, saying, “I may have overstated that,” and adding that he “wished her well.”

“I wish them all well,” Jackson said, noting that he had been trying to stay out of the Senate race, which includes two of his House colleagues, Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly. “I worked with Raja and Robin, and it’s a highly contested race.”