Jesse Jackson Jr. launches comeback bid for Congress

• The seat, which covers parts of South Chicago and the rural and suburban counties to the South, is coming open as Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) runs for U.S. Senate.
• Jackson joins a crowded field of Democrats vying for the seat, including state Sens. Robert Peters and Willie Preston, Cook County commissioner Donna Miller, Water Reclamation District commissioner Yumeka Brown and policy strategist Adal Regis.

Driving the news: In the video, Jackson alluded to the campaign finance that drove him from Congress without addressing it directly by quoting a speech his father, Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., made at the 1984 Democratic National Convention.

• "'If in my low moments in word, deed, or attitude' — and, I might add, judgment — 'through some error of temper, taste or tone, I've caused anyone discomfort, created pain or revived someone's fears, that was not my truest self... please, forgive me,'" the younger Jackson said.

Zoom in: Jackson said he is responding to a "draft movement" and promised a "new direction for this district, this party and this nation."

• He pitched himself as an "independent Democrat" who, when he was in office, "did what was right for my district, even if it meant breaking" the party line.
• "I was known as a fighter who knew how to win," he added, echoing campaigns across the country that have been trying to harness grassroots frustration towards the Democratic Party establishment.

What to watch: Whoever wins the Democratic primary for the seat will almost certainly win the general election, making it the key contest.

Editor's note This story has been updated to show Jackson resigned in 2012 (not 2013)