Scoop: Rep. Jonathan Jackson eyes bid for DNC chair

• "I'm taking a hard look at it. I've been asked by several people, and I've been keeping a look at the [people] that have entered the race," he said.
• Jackson said he will make an announcement "by the end of the weekend." The election is set for Feb. 1, with candidate forums expected this month.

State of play: Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler and New York state Sen. James Skoufis are all currently running.

• So is Marianne Williamson, a spiritual guru and author who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020 and 2024.

What he's saying: Jackson signaled that he would pitch himself as a relative progressive within the field of candidates, telling Axios the party has been "drifting in the wrong direction."

• "There's a new generation that wants to be heard. We've gotten labeled as the party of war — and we're not, historically," he said.
• Jackson also said he wants Democrats to "extoll the virtues of what the Biden-Harris administration has done, and with Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Speaker Pelosi ... in contrast with President Trump."

Zoom in: Jackson said he would also propose a return of former DNC Chair Howard Dean's famous 50-state strategy.

• He cited solidly Republican states like Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi as places where the DNC is underinvested.
• "We've got to not concede 60% of the nation in the electoral process. People in those states, they want to see us and we can help them win some state seats, then help do the maps and then [win] some congressional seats," he added.