Democrat Representative Tony DeLuca, who died a month ago due to complications from cancer, was re-elected in the Pennsylvania midterm elections in the United States. According to figures released by the local press, the congressman received more than 85 percent of the vote in the state.
DeLuca was 85 years old and died of lymphoma on October 9. He had already been treated and had recovered from the disease twice.
At the time of his death, US law did not allow his name to be changed to another candidate in time to change the options to be displayed on ballots.
DeLuca’s rival, candidate Queonia “Zarah” Livingston, finished the race with 14% of the vote, but a new election will be held in the province at a later date.
In a post on Twitter, the Democratic Party said it was “deeply saddened” by DeLuca’s death, but “proud to see voters continue to express their confidence in him.”
“We are deeply saddened to lose Representative Tony DeLuca, but we are proud to see that voters continue to express their confidence in him and his commitment to democratic values by re-election after his death,” the broadcast said.
Also on Twitter, Livingston commented on the result that marked the Democratic congressman’s victory and criticized voters who voted for DeLuca.
The candidate said, “Now there is no one to represent us in our county until the special election is over. Would I want someone to tell me how much better this is?” he wrote.
The Republican was also elected posthumously in 2018. This This isn’t the first time a candidate has won an election post-mortem. In 2018, Dennis Hof was inducted as a Republican in the Nevada Senate, despite his death the previous month.
But unlike Pennsylvania, his victory did not trigger a special election. This was because, under Nevada state law, officials could nominate another Republican to replace Hof throughout the entire term.
source: Noticias
