Republican Erica Harriss narrowly won this Metro East district, which includes Granite City, Edwardsville and Collinsville, in 2022, ousting an appointed Democrat. This will be a hotly contested race again, and she faces political newcomer Marsia Geldert-Murphey, a 62-year-old civil engineer who narrowly won in the Democratic primary.
Harriss, 49, focused on lowering the cost of living in her first term, particularly pertaining to housing. She co-sponsored GOP legislation to give first-time homebuyers a $500 tax credit to help with their mortgages. She tells us she also broke with her party to support a Democratic initiative to bar companies from using so-called surveillance pricing to charge different amounts for the same product.
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She explains her opposition to the proposed income-tax surcharge for millionaires thoughtfully. “I represent a border district,” she tells us. “A business owner in Edwardsville who is deciding where to expand can locate to St. Charles County, Missouri, and take her payroll with her.”
Illinois’ struggle to compete for new businesses and retain the ones already here is felt most keenly in these border areas.
Geldert-Murphey tells us the only way she would support the millionaire surtax is if it was accompanied by middle-class tax relief.
We endorsed Harriss’ opponent, Kris Tharp, in 2022, arguing then that Harriss had little political experience. But she has proved to be a moderate Republican who works with Democrats and is exactly the sort of lawmaker Illinois needs at this moment. Erica Harriss is endorsed.
Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois general election here.
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