WASHINGTON — I’m in my kitchen at my home in northwest Washington doing dishes and not paying much attention to the cable news show that’s on when, to my surprise, as I pass the television, I see an ad with a House member from Chicago touting someone running for a Maryland Senate seat — a candidate I’ve barely heard of.
But there was Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., in an ad I now see popping up all the time on my local television, endorsing someone I bet most folks in the Chicago area don’t know — Rep. David Trone, D-Md.
Jackson, a freshman representative, belongs to an iconic family. He is the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Though he comes from a famous family, Jackson does not have a famous face. I wondered if I’m the only one in the area — I’m a mile from the Maryland border — who instantly recognized him.
Trone is running in the Maryland Democratic primary in May for an open Senate seat. His main competition is Angela Alsobrooks, who is the elected county executive — that’s the top spot — of Prince George’s County in Maryland.
Alsobrooks is a Black female, running in a primary where the Black vote could determine the winner. Trone is white. If elected, Alsobrooks would be the first female Black senator from Maryland.
The Trone and Alsobrooks campaigns estimate that the Black vote in the Maryland primary will be between 35% and 40%.
Trone needs to cut into Alsobrooks’ likely Black vote. Jackson is a star in Trone’s ad because Trone needs to pick up some Black support.
Those now-ubiquitous ads started last month.
Trone’s district is anchored in the upscale Maryland suburbs near Washington. He is one of the wealthiest members of Congress. He made his fortune as the co-owner of Total Wine & More, which sells beer, wine and spirits.
Trone communication chief Joe Bowen told me Trone has said he will spend $50 million of his own money on his campaign. All told, Trone has spent tens of millions of dollars in four bids for the House, winning his seat and re-election after an initial defeat in his first run.
Trone is the only Maryland Senate candidate who is running ads. The Jackson spot, filmed in December, was made by Trone’s media advisor, Jimmy Siegel, Bowen said.
Here’s how the 30-second spot starts: A close-up of Jackson, who says, “I grew up the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson. David Trone grew up on his family farm. But we share the same vision for a just America.”
Most of the images in the ad show Trone talking to Black voters.
Jackson ends the spot saying Trone knows “there is no justice without economic justice.”
I asked Jackson about why he made the ad for Trone. Part of the reason is Trone’s involvement with ex-prison inmates and related criminal justice issues. Trone’s work “fighting for innocent people, people who have been marginalized ... naturally attracted me to David.”
As for the impact his spot, taped in Chicago, is having, Jackson said “I really haven’t thought about it. But whatever I can do to help David, I’m more than happy to do so. ... I’ve got a lot of friends that are in the Maryland area ... any friends of mine that I can introduce him to, I’m more that happy to do so.”
Communicating with Black voters is crucial to the Trone campaign, Bowen said.
The Jackson spots are running on broadcast stations in the D.C. and Baltimore markets, and on cable and digital outlets across the state.
The Jackson spot is testing well, with potential voters “having a positive response,” Bowen said.
A person I talked to in the Alsobrooks camp said it’s too soon to say if the Jackson ad will influence voters because Alsobrooks is not running spots yet. With unlimited wealth, ultra-rich, self-financed candidates can run ads and just see what happens.
The spot hinges on voters making the connection that Jonathan Jackson is the son of the famous Rev. Jackson.
“Folks do know his father very well, especially in the D.C. area, and the family legacy on civil rights is still powerful, especially in Baltimore and the D.C. area,” Bowen said.
On Thursday, Jackson will keynote an event marking the upcoming birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Hanover, Md. He’s billed as the “son of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson.” And Trone is delivering the opening remarks.
