So… how are you?

The campaign whirlwind hits top speed

“So… how are you?”

I’m getting that question a lot.

We’re in the homestretch of the most expensive Attorney General race in American history. It’s basically tied and the consequences for our state will be dramatic and felt for years to come.

But when I meet people, the first thing they usually ask is how I’m holding up personally.

Which is very kind. I generally say, “Doing well, marching right along.”

And that’s true. Marisa and the kids are hanging in there, our campaign team is strong, and I’m a lucky guy to be at the helm of this whole operation.

That said, this is - by far - the most jam-packed experience of my entire life.

I barely have time to write this. I’m in the parking lot of a Waffle House, not because we stopped to eat - no time for that - but because it’s a well-lit area that we can use between events for me to type.

We just did three stops in Eastern North Carolina: Greenville, Rocky Mount, and Kinston. In the middle I met with a group of clergy from across the state. Left that meeting to stop by a Hindu temple and say hello to about 800 people. (They gave me the most beautiful flower necklace you’ve ever seen. I’m bringing it home for my daughter.) Next up is a charity event in Charlotte. Then a local TV interview, then a sports radio interview. Then it’s Davidson, then Concord, then Winston Salem, then Shelby, then Raleigh, then… I’m not sure because I try not to look that far ahead.

The way it works on my campaign is there are six people who can add things to my calendar, and I’m not one of them. Each day, requests come in from across the state for me to be in different places. My team looks for ways to cluster them geographically so I can say yes to a handful of requests in one area. 

On the way to and from events, I’m making phone calls. There’s no scheduled rest. Sometimes, my team will forget to schedule time for me to eat. 

And that’s fine - I want them to keep me flat-out for the next two weeks. I’m going to lose some weight, lose some sleep, get a little beat up, but that’s as it should be. We can take it. 

After all, that’s how you win a tied race.

Which is what we’re going to do.

Early voting with Marisa. Go vote!

New endorsements

This week our campaign received the joint endorsement of the News & Observer, Charlotte Observer, and Herald-Sun.

Their words:

“In Jeff Jackson, North Carolina voters have a strong choice… one of the most bipartisan members of the U.S. House [who] has been refreshingly thoughtful and accessible, with a straightforward style and transparency that has such a broad appeal among voters that fearful Republicans gerrymandered away his chances of another term in Congress… In an interview with the editorial board, he outlined the collaborative steps he wants to take with local law enforcement to continue the fight against fentanyl in North Carolina. He spoke of getting in front of the growing threat of Artificial Intelligence used to scam citizens. He wants to work with law enforcement on major felony cases including sex offenses, and he has reiterated the attorney general’s role in defending the constitutional rights of all citizens, regardless of party.”

By contrast:

“Dan Bishop [is] a candidate who in so many ways exemplifies the opposite of what an attorney general should be… he would be a leader who has a long, harsh history of discrimination… Most notably, Bishop also was the author of perhaps the most destructive bill in our state’s history. HB2 was a grab bag of discrimination that went far beyond bathrooms, and it did more damage to North Carolina and its economy than perhaps any single piece of legislation. Bishop, incredibly, shows no public remorse over his role in it, and he’s operated in similar grievance-filled fashion as a U.S. House member… Outside of a few references to crime on his site (his solution: ending ‘woke policies’), voters are left to wonder exactly what it is that Bishop plans to do if he were to win.

And finally:

“We recommend Jeff Jackson for North Carolina Attorney General.” 

Not going dark on TV

The air war rages.

We’re currently getting hit in all six NC media markets, both by my opponent and two super PACs supporting him. 

One of those super PACs is also sending mail attacking me. Here’s a sense for the level of integrity they’re showing:

There’s not even a citation here. That means they’re not even bothering to reference a vote or a statement from me. It’s just pure fiction designed to upset people who have never met me.

But honestly, this whole thing is going to come down to TV.

So we took a bit of risk last week. Based on how many of you supported us through our last email (thank you!), we made a projection and reserved enough TV time to get us up in all six markets for the last week of the campaign.

We could have played it safe and reserved half of that. That’s the cash-on-hand we have.

But it’s leap of faith time, so we basically spent money that hasn’t come in yet because time is running out.

This email is our best chance to close that gap. If we can’t, then we’ll have to decide where to go dark by canceling ad buys in different parts of the state. The prospect of going dark while we’re getting hit from all sides is pretty unsettling.

What I’m saying is, we’ve built a bridge and it’s about 90% of the way across the river. We’ve now opened the bridge to traffic and we need help finishing the last 10% as quickly as possible.

You can support us here (ActBlue) or here (non-ActBlue).

By the way, I asked A.I. to help me with an image of the bridge I just described, and here’s what it gave me:

Thanks for helping us finish the project! I truly appreciate it.

12 days to go.

Best,

Jeff Jackson

P.S. - You can watch our newest ad here. Hope you like it.