Political insiders say Democratic Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr., of Illinois could replace Barack Obama as senator if the presidential hopeful is elected to the nation’s top office, reports thehill.com. However, Jackson is not the only person eyeing the position. Democratic Representative Jan Schakowsky is also said to covet Obama’s seat in the Senate.
Jackson, who defended Obama after comments his father, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, made about castrating the presidential candidate were caught on tape, released a statement saying, “If Sen. Obama wins—and I’m optimistic that he will—I indeed would be honored and humbled to succeed him in the U.S. Senate. But, in the end, the decision rests with Gov. [Rod] Blagojevich and I’m confident that he’ll make an appointment in the best interest of the state as well as the nation.”