What’s next for Jeff Jackson? Here’s what to expect.

At a dinner at his home Wednesday night, state Sen. Jeff Jackson and his staff were getting phone calls — reporters trying to confirm rumors that he was about to drop out of North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race.

The rumors were true. On Thursday, Jackson posted a video announcing his departure.

But Wednesday night, he and his staff just wanted to have dinner. A regular dinner — something that Senate candidates don’t often get on the campaign trail.

In an interview Thursday, Jackson, 39, said he’s excited about returning to a seemingly more normal life, one where he doesn’t have to say goodbye to his three children as often as he has over the past year.

That doesn’t mean he won’t be busy. A key question going forward is how Jackson will use his political power and connections to benefit Cheri Beasley, the former North Carolina Supreme Court chief justice who now has a wide open path to the general election in November 2022.

His political apparatus is as strong as it has ever been. A 100-county tour has landed Jackson connections across the state. His social media following has grown even more prominent (he has 85,000 followers on Twitter and 25,000 on Instagram). Among many Democratic voters, and young people especially, Jackson has solidified his reputation this past year as a strong orator and a likable person in a political world often seen as vitriolic.

In the end, though, Beasley outdid him. Jackson will be the first to admit that.

Asked what ultimately made Beasley the stronger candidate, Jackson pointed to her record as a candidate and a Supreme Court justice. She has won statewide races — something he can’t claim. She’s also likable and honest, he said. If she’s successful, her campaign will be historic.

Beasley would be the first Black female senator elected to represent North Carolina. She would also be a Black female senator in a chamber that currently has no Black female representation. With Kamala Harris serving as vice president, Black women — some of the most loyal Democratic voters — have no representation in the Senate.

“It’s wrong that there are no Black women in the U.S. Senate,” Jackson said. “It’s just wrong.”

That played a role in his decision, he said. With her fundraising prowess and a litany of endorsements, it became obvious that she would likely win the primary. His campaign, if it continued, would have forced her to spend millions of dollars on that election. Now, she can use that money against the Republican nominee in the general election.

“At this point it’s about doing what I can to help Cheri and other folks around the state,” Jackson said. “I think that’s going to keep me fully engaged for the foreseeable future.”

Former Gov. Pat McCrory and U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, who has the endorsement of Donald Trump, are both running on the Republican side. Former Rep. Mark Walker is also running, though he is considering shifting to a U.S. House race, the Raleigh News and Observer has reported.

So what’s next for Jackson?

He won’t seek reelection to the General Assembly, he said. He has already thrown his support behind Rachel Hunt in his own state Senate district, and said it would be wrong to interfere now. As for a congressional race, he said he supports Rep. Alma Adams of Charlotte.

Even with the potential redrawing of the state’s congressional maps, Jackson said it “seems unlikely” that he’d make a bid for U.S. House.

Looking further ahead to a statewide race in 2024, Jackson said he “wouldn’t rule that out.”

Attorney General Josh Stein is rumored to be gearing up for the governor’s race in 2024, when Gov. Roy Cooper’s term expires. If Stein runs for governor, the attorney general seat will be an open seat.

“I don’t believe that Jeff Jackson’s political career is over,” said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University.

Cooper added that Jackson, a lawyer, “seems like a natural candidate for attorney general.”

“Having somebody who could enter that race with astronomical name recognition would be very difficult to beat,” he said.

A peaceful primary, a brighter future?

Throughout the campaign, Jackson and Beasley seemed cordial. There were no attack ads, no spats on Twitter. And in his departure video, Jackson praised Beasley as the right candidate for the job.

With that, Jackson may have curried favor with Democratic elites who had thrown their support behind Beasley. His good-natured goodbye could help in future political pursuits.

“He’s looking at a long-term potential future in the Democratic party and maybe part of this calculus for withdrawing today was to show the historic nature of Beasley’s run and to keep future options open,” said Michael Bitzer, a professor of political science at Catawba College. “Leaving on good terms with your party probably helps in the future.”

Bitzer said the tenor is strategically beneficial for Jackson, but that both he and Beasley also seem genuinely opposed to needless mudslinging. Though many candidates might agree in principle, many also falter from that when staring down a potential loss, he said.

In the immediate future, political observers will be looking at Jackson for how much effort he puts in to helping Beasley.

“Will Jackson do campaign events for Beasley, will they show a united tour across the state?” Bitzer said. “That would set up a very interesting comparison to what we’re seeing play out on the Republican side. She has to start building her war chest now, and this makes it that much easier.”

On his family

Jackson said he spent this past week — the whole week — at home. That hasn’t happened since January.

He used the time to go on a bike ride with his family. On Sunday night, he didn’t have to go through the routine of telling his wife, Marisa, goodbye for a few days.

For most of this year, he would spend time in Raleigh and multiple days on the road doing town halls. Even after his 100-county tour, Jackson held many events at colleges and elsewhere to engage with voters.

“It felt kind of weird on Sunday night when I wasn’t saying goodbye to Marisa. I knew I was just going to be there the next day and the day after that,” he said. “We’re still getting used to that feeling, but it’s totally wonderful.”

Tonight, he’ll be on grocery duty. He said he plans to pick up a chicken at Harris Teeter.

This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 2:53 PM.

Will Wright

The Charlotte Observer

Will Wright covers politics in Charlotte and North Carolina. He previously covered eastern Kentucky for the Lexington Herald-Leader, and worked as a reporting fellow at The New York Times.