Jackson attended numerous farm protest rallies and his electoral performance in rural counties often surpassed expectations . At the 1984 Democratic National Convention , Hansen was asked by Jackson to make one of the three speeches formally entering his name into nomination as a candidate . The other nominating speeches were made by future Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Washington , D.C. mayor Marion Barry . In 1985 , Hansen traveled to Africa with Jackson , meeting with Ministers of Agriculture while Jackson met with heads of state . In 1988 , he again worked with Jackson on his presidential campaign . He attended the 1988 Democratic National Convention as an Alternate Delegate and contributed substantially to that year 's platform debate on agricultural policy
1988 Democratic National Convention
1988 Democratic National Convention
Merle Hansen