Ex-Kansas City Chief Linebacker Running for U.S. Congress

CHICAGO — Former Kansas City Chief linebacker Napoleon Harris says that he’s running to replace Jesse Jackson, Jr. in the U.S. Congress.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Harris, a Democrat who was elected earlier this month to he Illinois Senate, says that he’s been getting a lot of support for his plan to run for the 2nd District Congressional seat vacated last week by Jackson, who cited health reasons for his resignation.

“The primary reason I chose to run for the state Senate is the heartbeat and the pulse of my constituents. But over the last few months, we’ve gotten overwhelming support to put my name in the ring for the congressional seat,” Harris told the Sun-Times.

Harris, a graduate of Northwestern University where he was a two-time all conference linebacker, was a first-round draft pick of the Oakland Raiders in 2002 who played seven seasons in the NFL – including with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2007-08.

Click here for more on this story from the Chicago Sun-Times.