Jackson served as a Specialist during his year-long deployment to Afghanistan. After returning home from his deployment, Jackson entered the ROTC program to become a commissioned officer. He is now a Captain. Prior to joining the state Senate, Jackson worked as a prosecutor in Gaston County, North Carolina. He was forced to resign upon joining the senate, as the state constitution prohibits serving as an elected official and a prosecutor simultaneously.
North Carolina Senate
When Sen. Dan Clodfelter resigned to become Mayor of Charlotte in 2014, Jackson was selected by local Democrats in the Mecklenburg County district to serve out the remainder of Clodfelter's term. They also chose him to replace Clodfelter as the Democratic nominee on the November 2014 general election ballot. Because no other person had filed to run against Clodfelter for the seat, Jackson ran unopposed for a full two-year term. Jackson was re-elected to his second full term in 2016, winning with 68% of the vote against Bob Diamond. In 2014, Jackson's speech on the budget process gained national attention. Jackson also gained national attention when he was the only legislator to show up for work on a snow day in February 2015. The episode earned him a featured segment on The Rachel Maddow Show. Jackson has repeatedly introduced legislation to end gerrymandering by implementing independent redistricting. He also supports universal pre-K education programs. In 2017, Jackson introduced a bill to repeal the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, a North Carolina law that requires people in government-owned buildings to use the bathroom that corresponds to their birth certificate. The bill also prevents municipalities from passing non-discrimination ordinances. Jackson is also known for his fight to close the consent loophole. Under North Carolina law, women cannot legally revoke their consent to engage in sexual intercourse once that act has consensually begun, thanks to a 'loophole' afforded by the state's Supreme Court. Various news outlets mentioned Jackson as a potential candidate against Republican incumbent Richard Burr in North Carolina's 2016 U.S. Senate election. Jackson declined to run and Burr won re-election. He was also mentioned as a top potential challenger to North Carolina's other Republican Senator, Thom Tillis in 2020, and is a potential candidate for 2022.
Personal life
Jackson currently works as a business litigator at Womble Bond Dickinson in Charlotte. Jackson also continues to serve in the North Carolina Army National Guard as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. Jackson is married to Marisa, a marketing director, with two young sons and a daughter. Haden, now 10 years old, attends fifth grade at a public school in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system. Owen is 3. Avery was born October 2018. Jackson is a member of Myers Park Presbyterian Church.
