Jonathan Jackson

A group of Congressional incumbents aren’t seeking reelection in the Chicago area, but 1st District Rep. Jonathan Jackson is as he faces Republican nominee Christian Maxwell.

Jackson won the race handily in the 2024 election against Republican nominee Marcus Lewis, winning by more than 100,000 votes, but this time around he’s facing a first-time candidate in Maxwell, who beat Lewis in the March primary to challenge Jackson as he seeks a third term.

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The district is extremely varied, ranging from the urban areas of the South Side of Chicago through the southern suburbs and all the way down to rural areas in Kankakee County.

While most national projection websites have the district as being a solidly Democratic one, Maxwell says she sees an opportunity to flip the seat to the Republican column.

“We’ve reached 5.5 million people in the last 30 days on Facebook and Instagram alone,” she said.

Maxwell has built her social media following offering her conservative views on a variety of topics, and one of the biggest has been criticizing Jackson after the administration of President Donald Trump rebuffed requests for FEMA disaster funding in the wake of severe thunderstorms, including a derecho that hammered the region earlier in the summer.

Maxwell has criticized Jackson, arguing his opposition to Trump prevents him from working with the administration to secure resources for his district.

“We teach our children to be able to talk to somebody even if you don’t agree, because there’s still something to be gained on both sides if you can even dialogue,” she said.

Jackson pushed back on the argument, saying his opposition to Trump is rooted in a desire for accountability for the administration, and he also argues he has reached out to officials in his administration.

“We try to work with him every day,” he said.

Another significant point of contention are looming changes to Medicaid eligibility and funding, which are set to go into full effect early next year. Approximately 25% of the voters in the 1st district depend on Medicaid, and Jackson says the cuts are going to badly hurt his constituents.

“This will have a devastating impact, to remove $100 billion out of the healthcare system when costs are increasing,” he said.

Maxwell has a different definition of the changes to the Medicaid system.

“People use the term ‘cutting Medicaid,’ but it’s more so been a refinement of eligibility,” she said. “They’re really taking that down to being almost a permanent resident to basically U.S. born citizens.”

As for the perception that the district is heavily leaning toward Democrats, Maxwell has argued Jackson takes voters for granted, and points to his travels to Arkansas and Texas to help other candidates campaign rather than holding campaign events closer to home.

“Even right now he’s not present. So, there is no real footprint for Jonathan Jackson or his campaign as of right now. So there are no yard signs out, there’s no billboards, there’s nothing,” she said.

Jackson points to his record of meeting with constituents and concerned groups as a member of Congress as evidence he is highly focused on representing their interests, and disputes that he’s “not present,” as Maxwell argues.

“There’s no history of that, no track record. I probably have some of the most meeting secured with constituents in and outside the district,” he said.

Jackson says he has felt moved to help other candidates by the memory of his late father Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.

“Trump has awakened everyone to come out and participate,” he said. “We have a charge to keep, and so I always say keep hope alive, and now it’s time for us to rise.”

Maxwell says she’s aware of the enormity of the task in front of her, but she’s ready to prove doubters wrong.

“I have crossover appeal. I’m not just depending on Republican voters to pull it off,” she said.