Elected officials in McLean County face more opposition in 2018

BLOOMINGTON (Heartland Newsfeed) — Elected officials will face an unusually tough road, particularly in McLean County, in the 2018 elections, as 11 of 13 elected county officials have opposition of some form in 2018, compared to only three of 14 candidates being challenged in 2016.

Candidate filing is now over and we now have a preview on what to expect in the March 20 primary election, as well as the November 6 general election:

COUNTY TREASURER: Republican incumbent Rebecca McNeil will not have a Democratic Party opponent in her bid for a fourth term. McNeil has been treasurer for McLean County since 2006. She will be challenged by Libertarian Lex Green. Green is the former chairman of the McLean County Libertarian Party and has served as chairman of the Libertarian Party of Illinois since 2014 after a tenure as vice chairman, taking over duties from outgoing chairman Matthew Skopek. Green was the Libertarian Party’s gubernatorial nominee in 2010 and has previously run for mayor of Bloomington.

COUNTY SHERIFF: Republican incumbent Jon Sandage will be running unopposed in his bid for a third term.. Sandage has been McLean County sheriff since 2010.

COUNTY CLERK: Republican incumbent Kathy Michael will be seeking her third term as county clerk. Despite not being challenged in the 2010 and 2014 general elections, Nikita Richards represents the Democratic challenge in the race for 2018.

COUNTY BOARD: District 1 – With Don Cavallini no longer in the picture in McLean’s District 1, Gerald Thompson, who ran as an independent in the 2014 general election, now has an opportunity for the Republican nomination. Thompson will be facing Jeremiah Houston in the March 20 primary.

District 2 – It’s open season in the Republican primary, as incumbent James Soeldner has a primary challenge from J Snyder. Also in the race is Democratic candidate David Siebert and Libertarian candidate Paul Michael Enerson.

District 3 – Republican incumbent Randy L. Martin will have a general election showdown against Libertarian Christopher Howick. Howick, who had previously expressed interest in running for the Illinois House of Representatives in District 88, suspended his campaign Friday, citing family, personal and professional considerations which would render his campaign non-viable. Howick would later file for the county board seat.

District 4 – Republican incumbent Mark Johnson will have a three-way general election, as Democratic candidate Logan Smith and Libertarian candidate Alexandra Engle have filed to be in the race. Engle is an employee at Illinois State University in Normal.

Other Races – Bennett Morris, chairman of the McLean County Libertarian Party, will be facing off against Republican incumbent Ryan Scritchlow and Democratic candidate Sharon Chung in District 7. Illinois State University communications professor Steve Suess will be facing off against the winner of the Democratic primary between incumbent Paul R. Segobiano and Shayna Watchinski in District 8. In an open race in District 9, there will be three candidates running for the seat: Republican candidate Jeremy Bradley, Democratic candidate David Parker and Libertarian candidate Richard Bennett. Libertarian candidate Kevin Woodard will face off against Republican incumbent Chuck Erickson in District 10. Democratic incumbent Laurie Wollrab will be running uncontested in District 6.

The primaries for the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties will take place on March 20.

Jake Leonard

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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.

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