JOHNSON CO., Ill.—The Democrat candidate for sheriff in Johnson County has died.
Jay Merchant, 57, running unopposed on the Primary ticket, was set to face the Republican candidate, Charles Haner, this fall; one of them would have replaced outgoing sheriff Elry Faulkner, who is the longest-serving sheriff in the state, having spent 40 years in office.
However, Merchant, who was a former prison guard at Vienna, was reportedly found unresponsive in his home Tuesday, March 25, and was taken to a hospital in Marion, where he was pronounced deceased. No cause of death has been reported.
Under the circumstances, the general protocol will be that the Democrat Party will caucus to find a replacement for Merchant on the ballot. More on that as we get it.