This Metro East district covers much of St. Clair County including Belleville and East St. Louis. Democrat Christopher Belt has represented the district since 2019. He faces union steelworker Daniel Rhyne, 53, a political newcomer.
We endorsed Belt’s Republican challenger, Wavey Lester, in 2022 and Belt won easily. This time around, Belt faces a candidate with little financial support who calls for restoring cash bail, among other hard-right positions.
Belt has focused in recent years on modest bills to make lives easier for working-class people in this district such as requiring retailers to accept cash payments up to $500, with some reasonable exceptions.
We’d like to see the GOP give Belt more of a run for his money, but Rhyne’s candidacy isn’t the one to do it. We endorse Christopher Belt.
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Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois general election here.
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