CHICAGO – With one of the front-runners for former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s congressional seat facing felony gun charges, Chicago-area Democratic officials on Saturday failed to unite behind a single candidate.

The outcome means Democrats will have an open primary in which none of the more than dozen candidates will have the edge that comes with party backing, namely through campaign money and volunteers. The district is heavily Democratic, covering most of Chicago's South Side and nearby suburbs, and the winner of the Feb. 26 primary will go on to the April 6 general election.

None of the candidates was able to get a majority of votes from Cook County Democratic officials in Saturday's slating session, said Robert Storman, a spokesman for one of the committee members, Thornton Township Democratic boss Frank Zuccarelli.