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WASHINGTON (AFP): A Republican candidate was elected to the state legislature in North Dakota, despite the fact that he had died a month before from coronavirus, officials said Wednesday (Nov. 4).
David Andahl, a farmer and businessman, died on October 5 at the age of 55 “after a short battle with Covid-19,” his family said on the Facebook page of his campaign for the local assembly.
“He has been a public servant for many years and looked forward to the opportunity to serve in the state legislature,” the family statement said.
That ambition was posthumously fulfilled when the former racing driver was elected to North Dakota’s eighth congressional district with one-third of the vote, winning the last race of his life.
In front of a deceased elected official, the northern rural state attorney general said the situation would be handled the same way as a legislator who resigns or retires, and that the local Republican party would appoint a replacement; however, the legal basis for this has been disputed.
It is not the first time in recent US history that a dead candidate has won the election. In 2018, well-known brothel owner Dennis Hof was elected to the Nevada Assembly on the Republican ballot a few weeks after his death. – AFP
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