Sanders taps Rev. Jesse Jackson as campaign advisor

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) appointed Rev. Jesse Jackson as a campaign advisor, the Sanders camp announced Saturday. 

“I’m humbled and proud to have Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. by my side in the fight to expand voting rights, create a single-payer health care system, and finally deliver full social and economic equality for those who have been left behind,” Sanders said in a tweet on Saturday.

I’m humbled and proud to have Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. by my side in the fight to expand voting rights, create a single-payer health care system, and finally deliver full social and economic equality for those who have been left behind. https://t.co/cNTR00skl1

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 14, 2020

Jackson, a civil rights leader who endorsed Sanders at a campaign rally in Michigan before the states crucial primary on Tuesday, told CBS the candidate made several commitments to him.

Sanders told him that he would introduce a constitutional amendment in the Senate next week on voting rights, name black women to his cabinet and nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court if he is elected president. 

He also reportedly asked Sanders to pick a black woman as his running mate. Former Georgia Gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams, who has been floated potential running mate is one of a handful of politicians that fits that description.

The move comes as the Sanders campaign seeks to gain a foothold of black voters’ support before the next batch of elections. Sanders has not yet been able to garner the majority of black support, unlike his chief rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden won overwhelmingly in South Carolina, a state with a majority black electorate. The former vice president received more than twice as many votes as Sanders did in the contest. On Super Tuesday, where more southern states with large black populations voted, Biden also won handily.