Candidate Spotlight: DeVelle Jackson

Independent candidate for U.S. House, Minnesota's 5th Congressional District

DeVelle Jackson is running as an independent for Congress in Minnesota's 5th District, arguing that voters deserve a representative who answers to them rather than to a party. Jackson doesn't identify fully with either major party, and he says the current political climate has only sharpened that feeling. "I wanted the 5th District to have a third option," he said, "somebody who would put people before the party."

A Bottom-Up View of Politics

Jackson describes the current system as top-down, one that serves ambitious politicians, policy demanders, and interest groups more than ordinary voters. He wants to flip that model so that representatives serve the people from the bottom up.

That conviction became more urgent, he says, with President Trump's second term. Jackson criticized the administration's divisive rhetoric and what he sees as disregard for constitutional limits. He is just as pointed about the district's incumbent, Rep. Ilhan Omar, whom he doesn't believe is equipped to hold the administration accountable. He stressed that he isn't trying to attack anyone, but he says many constituents share his dissatisfaction.

His main critique is one of style. Jackson argues that Omar too often "matches the energy" of the president rather than defeating it, and that much of her activity is performative, surfacing when issues are in the headlines. He says the district deserves a calm, coalition-minded representative who channels that energy into legislation.

Operation Metro Surge and the Question of Accountability

For Jackson, the issue is personal. He described the federal immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota earlier this year, Operation Metro Surge, as traumatic for the community, and he pointed to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents. Justice has not come, he says, and he asks where the district's representative has been since.

He is skeptical of calls to abolish ICE, which he sees as an appeal to the community's pain rather than a realistic plan. Abolishing the agency would require broad congressional support and a veto-proof supermajority, he noted, with Trump still in office. "Show us that you can be active," he said, and offer "a true legislative agenda" voters can count on.

Independent, but Honest About the Tradeoffs

Asked how he would stay independent under pressure from party leadership, Jackson was candid. In a district that typically votes about 75 percent Democratic, he says he plans to caucus with Democrats, which he described as a necessity for committee assignments and a concession to the voters he hopes to earn. He was careful not to call it a bargain.

"My vote is still going to remain mine," he said. He pledged to read bills line by line rather than follow a leadership memo, and he hopes to serve as "a first example of a check on a two-party system."

From Carpenter to Construction Manager

Jackson's background is in the trades. He started as a carpenter and worked his way into construction management, where he read plans and handled schedules, budgets, and safety requirements. He says the job taught him what's at stake in consequential decisions, and he ties it to the safety mantra on job sites: everyone should go home the same way they came, "but with more money in your pocket."

He argues Congress needs more members who come from the working class. He also holds a degree in political science, with a focus on constitutional government and constitutional law, and is pursuing law school. "I am tenacious. I am relentless," he said.

Affordability: A Supply-Side Focus

On affordability, Jackson pointed first to what he calls unauthorized military action in Iran, which he says has pushed up gas prices and strained the working class. He also wants to mitigate the effects of the recent tax and spending law, which he believes favors the wealthy.

His broader policy view is a supply-side one. Congress holds the power of the purse, he noted, and can use it to invest in the supply of housing, doctors, medical education, and hospitals. Subsidizing demand alone, he argued, doesn't bring prices down when supply is low. He describes himself as liberal and progressive on many issues but heterodox on others, and says it's time to shift perspective on what actually lowers costs.

Asked when he last laughed the hardest, Jackson admitted it happens while scrolling on his phone when he should be doing something else, often at how people keep their sense of humor amid so much anger.