Rep. Rush Boosts Jackson Jr. for Senate

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) said that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D) could still win election to the Senate, despite reports that he was the candidate whom Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was looking to deal with.

“He has really all the capacity, the talents and skills,” Rush said on MSNBC Thursday. “He’s got to reach out. He’s got to tell his story. He’s got to tell the people of the state of Illinois in very emphatic terms how he would be as U.S. senator in line with the great U.S. senators that Illinois has produced in the past.”

Jackson is reportedly the “Senate candidate 5″ mentioned in the criminal complaint against Blagojevich, who faces corruption charges for allegedly trying to sell the Senate seat once held by President-elect Obama. The unnamed candidate allegedly had an emissary who approached Blagojevich about a”pay-to-play” scheme that would result in the governor appointing him to the Senate.

Rush acknowledged that there is “enormous speculation” that Jackson is “Senate candidate 5.” But Rush said that Jackson is in the clear. Jackson himself denied any wrongdoing in his efforts to win the Senate appointment.

“I don’t believe that Jesse Jackson Jr. was in any way culpable or that he participated in any acts that would be unlawful,” Rush said. “And I believe Jesse Jackson Jr., and I stand behind his statements.”