McLean County Republicans are fielding a candidate against the Democratic challenger who knocked off longtime County Board member Paul Segobiano in March’s primary.
Republican Cheryl Froelich has filed to run in McLean County Board District 8, which includes downtown Bloomington and the city’s west side. Froelich has lived in the district for 17 years and is an optician at McLean County Eye Care. Froelich has the full backing of the McLean County Republican Party, GOP Chairman Connie Beard said Monday.
"Her inclusion on the ballot will provide voters a choice in November," Beard said.
Froelich will face Democrat Shayna Watchinski and Libertarian Steve Suess in November’s general election. Watchinski defeated Segobiano in March with 70 percent of the vote.
After his loss, Segobiano said he hoped Republicans would field a candidate to take on Watchinski in November. Now they have. District 8 is one of the most Democratic districts in McLean County. The other member who represents District 8 is Carlo Robustelli, a Democrat who endorsed Watchinski in the primary. Many of Segobiano’s endorsements were from Republicans.
Other County Board Races
Monday was the deadline for established political parties to get their candidates on November’s ballot if no one ran in the primary.
In McLean County Board District 10 in east Bloomington, Republican incumbent Chuck Erickson picked up a challenger in Democrat Bruce Lininger. Libertarian Kevin Woodard is also in that race.
Libertarian Michael Suess has filed to run in District 1, which stretches across the northern half of the county and dips down to a couple points in the Town of Normal. Republican Gerald Thompson won the GOP primary in March. GOP incumbent Don Cavallini is not seeking re-election.
Libertarian Sol Roberts-Lieb has filed to run in District 9, which includes south Bloomington. Roberts-Lieb previously ran for Unit 5 school board in 2017. He’ll face Republican Jeremy Bradley and Democrat David Parker in November. Incumbent Erik Rankin, who was recently elected chairman of the McLean County Democratic Party, is not seeking re-election.
People like you value experienced, knowledgeable and award-winning journalism that covers meaningful stories in Bloomington-Normal. To support more stories and interviews like this one, please consider making a contribution.
