MMA coach Greg Jackson is giving serious consideration to a political career.
Jackson, co-owner of the famed Jackson Wink MMA Academy in Albuquerque, N.M., told Axios in a Monday report that he’s thinking about running for Congress in his home state.
“I’m exploring a run because I care about this community, and I feel I can make a difference,” Jackson said, adding that he’d run as an independent who leans Democratic.
Jackson, 46, would look to fill a seat held by Democrat Deb Haaland in New Mexico’s 1st District, which includes most of Albuquerque and some of the surrounding area. Haaland is expected to be President-elect Joe Biden’s Secretary of the Interior, which would make her the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.
Among the issues important to Jackson are criminal justice reform and childcare programs. Jackson supports teaching police officers how to use MMA tactics to avoid resorting to deadly force used on suspects, as well as pushing to expand federal early childcare programs to combat poverty in New Mexico.
Jackson has made his name in MMA training champions through the years, including UFC Hall of Famer Georges St. Pierre and former UFC titleholders Jon Jones and Holly Holm.
