ILLINOIS — The next person to represent Illinois’ 15th Congressional District will be a woman from Coles County as voters in Tuesday’s primary election selected Republican Mary Miller and Democrat Erika Weaver to face off in November.

Miller manages a grain and livestock farm near Oakland with her husband, State Representative Chris Miller. Weaver is a public defender and school board member in Mattoon, and the only African-American among the four Democrats and four Republicans who ran in the 15th District primary.

12-term Republican John Shimkus’ decision to step down attracted several candidates, but the expectation that Illinois will lose a downstate congressional seat after redistricting caused more experienced candidates to stay away, as the district could be eliminated following the 2020 Census.