Republicans in Rock Island County have a new leader. Thursday night, members of the central committee elected Mike Steffen to replace outgoing county chair Bill Bloom.
Steffen most recently served as first vice chair, and says he wants to build on his party's recent successes.
"The last three years we have a state senator that's a republican and we have a state representative in the 71st District. We got things on a roll and I want to continue it."
Steffen has been active in the party for about 15 years, and after retiring from teaching school, he ran for and won a seat on the Rock Island County Board in 2014. He represents District 12 in Moline.
As chair, he wants Rock Island County republicans to focus on two things - recruiting new members and raising money for candidates for next year.
"Everything we plan, whether it's social or fundraising, we want them to stay focused on one of those two things."
In 2018, Steffen says there'll be races for Illinois Senate and House, plus 13 seats on the Rock Island County board - ten are now held by democrats.
