A panel of four Democratic Party suburban county chairs on Thursday selected Jared Ploger, a longtime teacher, union leader and former school board member, to replace Aurora-area state Sen. Linda Holmes on the November ballot, according to the members of the selection panel.

“He represents the area well, and we like him,” said Kane County Democratic Chair Mark Guethle.

Because Holmes’ retirement announcement came months after she won the March Democratic primary, Guethle, along with the party chairs in DuPage, Kendall and Will counties, met to select her replacement in a largely closed-door process.

Reid McCollum of DuPage, Mary Jo Wenmouth of Kendall and Billy Morgan of Will said they supported Ploger. Guethle nominated Democratic state Rep. Matt Hanson of Montgomery. All four said it was not a contentious process.

Shortly after the vote, Guethle said “the party stands united” behind Ploger.

Earlier this year, Ploger ran to succeed state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit in a House district covering half of Holmes’ Senate district as Kifowit unsuccessfully ran for state comptroller. Ploger, who was endorsed in the state House race by the Chicago Teachers Union, lost to DuPage County Board member Saba Haider.

“I’m certain he’ll convince voters they need to vote for him,” Guethle said when asked about Ploger’s previous loss in the House primary. “He’ll get out and do the work.”

McCollum, for his part, initially nominated Haider to replace Holmes’ name on the Senate ballot, but no one seconded him, he said. That led him to support Ploger. In total, seven people applied, McCollum said.

Ploger is the president of Valley View Council Local 604 of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents teachers and other school employees, and he previously served on the board of Oswego School District 308. He appears to have overlapped with Wenmouth on the board, the Kendall County chair.

The committee will file the necessary paperwork to get Ploger’s name on the ballot with the Illinois State Board of Elections on Monday, committee spokesperson Tom Bowen said.