Second Republican challenger to Evans emerges

Brian Gilliland, a certified National Football League player agent and a homebuilder, said he believes the area is in need of innovative ideas to counter a dwindling population and job base. “We have to come up with ways to be more creative,” he said.

He is the second Republican to say he will run for the GOP nomination next year. Jim Mowen, a commercial real estate agent and developer from Rock Island, also said he intends to run. Andrea Zinga, who ran unsuccessfully last year, said this week that she will announce her intentions in the fall.

Gilliland, who said his nickname is “Gilligan,” is seeking to hook voters by comparing the status of the 17th District to the castaways in the 1960s television program, “Gilligan’s Island.” “We have been left on an island to fend for ourselves in the district,” he said.

Obviously, the position of campaign advisor for "Gilligan" is still open.