By Tom Weber, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The mayor of Carbondale, Ill. has been elected to the state Republican Party's Central Committee.
Brad Cole was picked Wednesday night by other party committeemen from the 12th congressional district. That district includes mostly- Democratic parts of the Metro-East and southern Illinois.
The central committee is best known for picking Alan Keyes last year as the Republican nominee for U-S Senate when Jack Ryan left the race.
Cole fills the seat left vacant when Steve McGlynn resigned to take a job as a judget in June. McGlynn's brother, Mike, was also seeking the post but withdrew just before the vote Wednesday night. Cole had told KWMU earlier Wednesday that he had secured enough votes from county Republican committemen to guarantee his election.