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Republican candidate still won the election after he died from COVID-19

A Republican state legislature candidate won the election even though he died of COVID-19

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
SHARE Republican candidate still won the election after he died from COVID-19
A sign greets visitors outside the Curb Event Center at Belmont University as preparations take place for the second Presidential debate, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn., during the coronavirus outbreak. Governors of states including Tennessee, Oklahoma, Nebraska and North Dakota are all facing calls from doctors and public health officials to require masks.

A sign greets visitors outside the Curb Event Center at Belmont University as preparations take place for the second Presidential debate, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn., during the coronavirus outbreak. Governors of states including Tennessee, Oklahoma, Nebraska and North Dakota are all facing calls from doctors and public health officials to require masks.

AP

A Republican state legislature candidate won election in North Dakota on Tuesday about one month after he died from COVID-19, Politico reports.

  • David Andahl won a primary battle against an incumbent committee chairman state Rep. Jeff Delzer in June.
  • Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota supported Andahl in the racing, saying “we need more Trump Republicans in the State Legislature.”
  • Andahl — a rancher and land developer — served 16 years on a zoning and planning commission in North Dakota.
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Andahl was infected with COVID-19 when North Dakota saw a COVID-19 spike in the fall. He died after four days in the hospital on Oct. 5, according to The Washington Post.

  • “He has been a public servant for many years and was looking forward to the opportunity to serve in the state legislature,” his family said in a statement on his Facebook page. “We are sad that his wish will not come to pass.”
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Why it matters:

The Washington Post said the race “marks an unusual overlap between two of the most consequential events in the United States this year: a pandemic that has killed at least 232,000 people in the United States and the unprecedented election season it upended in the process.”