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U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson’s TikTok presence has propelled him to fame well beyond his Charlotte-area district, and his 2.2 million followers make him Congress’ biggest celebrity on the platform. The videos feel more like fireside chats than the usual fast-cut fare–a calm presence explaining the issue of the day, whether it’s hurricane relief, the war in Ukraine, or the Silicon Valley Bank failure.
He says these videos help him level with voters. But critics like his Republican opponent in this year’s state attorney general race, U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, have dismissed him as a “ladder-climbing TikTok influencer.”
Behind Jackson’s social-media persona lies a more complex personal story of a political evolution that began in the 1990s.
Jackson has talked occasionally about his early life, particularly his service in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2006, but rarely in much depth. This summer, he talked extensively with Barry Yeoman about his formative political years.
The Evolution of Jeff Jackson
Everyone knows him as the TikTok lawmaker. But the Democrat’s path from adolescence to Afghanistan to Congress winds through politically complex territory.
His memories, plus interviews with friends and peers, chart a transformation from a teenage libertarian to a lawmaker whose frank, intimate commentary have garnered him a national following.
Have a news tip for our team? You can reach us at scoops@theassemblync.com.
Dispatch From Meat Camp
The creek rose fast once Helene hit—first four feet, then five. Twenty-three-year-old Abby Winkler had seen all she needed to before jumping in her brother’s truck Friday morning.
Her family’s home sits at the back of the property, farther from the quickly rising creek than the other homes on her street. She headed out into the storm, hoping to convince her neighbors to come with her.
“You guys have to run,” she said she told her neighbors. “I drove as fast as I could and I could feel the truck shifting underneath me.”
The Winkler house became a refuge for some, Ella Adams reports. But elsewhere in Meat Camp, about 10 miles north of Boone, landslides and flooding destroyed homes. After the storm, lots lay bare under the gray Appalachian sky. Tangled branches, home appliances, furniture, clothing, and debris were strewn on the banks of Meat Camp Creek.
In Meat Camp, Neighbors Fled Rising Waters, Landslides
The rural mountain town was devastated by Hurricane Helene. Some residents rode out the storm in a family home while the creek rose nearby.
What We’re Reading
Another Plague: Flooding from Hurricane Helene disrupted the underground nests of yellow jackets, bees and other insects, causing them to swarm, per CBS News.
Weather, Man : At ABC News, meteorologists weigh in on why Hurricane Helene’s flooding was so disastrous. The North Carolina State Climate Office also provided a good explainer.
Braggadocio: Former President Donald Trump made a series of promises in a Fayetteville town hall on Friday, including to change the name of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg, which honored a Confederate general, The New York Times reports.
Ad Lib: WUNC’s The Broadside takes a look at political advertising, and exactly what approximately $12.3 billion is being spent on this year.
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