Former NFL linebacker to run for Jackson Jr.'s seat

Former National Football League linebacker and recently-elected Illinois state Sen. Napoleon Harris (D) will run for the seat left open by Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s (D-Ill.) resignation, he announced Tuesday.

"I'm running," Harris told the Chicago Sun-Times. "The primary reason I chose to run for the state Senate is the heartbeat and the pulse of my constituents. But over the last few months, we've gotten overwhelming support to put my name in the ring for the congressional seat."

Harris grew up in the area and was a college football star at Northwestern University, on the other side of Chicago, before playing in the NFL for the Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings.

Others running for the heavily Democratic seat are former Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D-Ill.), who lost a primary to Jackson last year, and Chicago Alderman Anthony Beale (D).

Other Democrats that have been mentioned as interested in running include state Sens. Toi Hutchinson and Donne Trotter, Alderman Will Burns, former state Reps. David Mille and Robin Kelly, Pastor Corey Brooks and Sam Adam Jr., former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's (D) attorney.

The special-election primary, which will likely determine who wins the general election, will take place on Feb. 26.

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