Jesse White (politician)

For the American actor who played the Maytag repairman, see Jesse White (actor).

Jesse Clark White (born June 23, 1934) is a Democratic American politician. He served as the 37th and the longest serving Secretary of State of Illinois and the first African American to hold this position. He decided to retire in 2022 instead of running for a seventh term.^[1]

Jesse White
37th Secretary of State of Illinois
In office January 11, 1999 – January 9, 2023
Governor	See list George Ryan Rod Blagojevich Pat Quinn Bruce Rauner J. B. Pritzker
Preceded by	George Ryan
Succeeded by	Alexi Giannoulias
Personal details
Born	(1934-06-23) June 23, 1934 (age 90) Alton, Illinois
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Alabama State University
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army Illinois National Guard
Years of service	1957-1959
Battles/wars	Vietnam War 101st Airborne Division

Early life

White was born in Alton, Illinois on June 23, 1934. He attended Alabama State University.

As Secretary of State

First elected to Secretary of State of Illinois in 1998, White was re-elected in 2002 by winning all 102 counties and garnering more than 2.3 million votes, the largest vote total by any candidate for Illinois statewide office in a quarter of a century. In 2006, White was re-elected to a third term, having received 63 percent of the vote statewide.^[2] White was elected to a fourth term in 2010, the leading vote-getter in the entire state.^[3]

Electoral history

• 2010 Race for Secretary of State of Illinois
  • Jesse White (D) (inc.), 70%
  • Robert Enriquez (R), 27%
• 2006 Race for Secretary of State of Illinois
  • Jesse White (D) (inc.), 62%
  • Dan Rutherford (R), 34%
• 2002 Race for Secretary of State of Illinois
  • Jesse White (D) (inc.), 69%
  • Kristine O'Rourke Cohn (R), 29%
• 1998 Race for Secretary of State of Illinois
  • Jesse White (D), 57%
  • Al Salvi (R), 43%