Politics and Government Undergraduate Advisor and Assistant to the Chair Erik Rankin has been elected the local party chair for Democrats. Rankin, along with the local chair for the Republicans, Connie Beard, was featured in a Pantagraph article on April 19. Rankin, a Mclean County Board member, was elected by precinct committeemen.

The Pantagraph article noted that “in February he decided not to run for a fourth County Board term specifically to pursue the party chairmanship. He holds a master’s degree in political management from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.”

“We’re seeing a paradigm shift, moving from elections being coronations and giving people a choice,” Rankin said. “What better person to help Democrats get elected to public office than someone that has done so for three terms?”